The Sacrificial Lamb
by Firefly Alchemist
Summary: DO NOT READ THIS SUMMARY IF YOU HAVEN'T READ VOLUME NINE OF THE MANGA OR SEEN THE 16TH BROTHERHOOD EPISODE! AU. The homunculi decide to frame someone else for Hughes' death. A person who is much closer to Mustang than Maria Ross. How will the Flame Alchemist react when his queen is imprisoned, and likely to be executed? Eventual spoilers for the entire series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello all! thank you for clicking on my story. I hope you enjoy it! A small note, some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from the manga. This chapter has spoilers for some of volume nine, but the story will eventually spoil all of FMA, so I don't suggest reading it if you haven't finished the series.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Oh, one more thing! The cover art for this fanfiction was created by eamcline. She's under that name here, and on deviantart. If have some time you really should check out her deviantart profile because she's an amazing artist.**

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Lust turned as Envy entered the room. He was wearing the face of some low-ranking military officer, she couldn't remember who. There were too many humans, they bred like rats; she could barely remember the names of all the generals who were in on father's plan, let alone random officers walking around central.

She watched Envy from her position on Gluttony's back, waiting for him to turn back to his usual form. He seemed to be in no hurry, though.

He strode casually over to her. The chimeras and other alchemic experiments growled and shook the bars of their cages. The noise harmonized with the sharp thump of Envy's standard issue military boots as he walked across the cement, crunching occasionally when he stepped on a stray bone left from Gluttony's meals. He remained silent until he was right in front of her. "The Flame Colonel, it seems, has caught wind of some of our…operations," he said.

"Oh?" Lust asked. Now was not the time for Roy Mustang to be acting out. It would be a shame if they had to kill him before the promised day.

"He was researching laboratory five and he compiled a list of executed prisoners at Central City Prison," Envy stated. He watched Lust's reaction

She raised an eyebrow. "You think he somehow found out about numbers 66 and 48?" She asked.

"I don't know. Why else would he want a list of executed prisoners?" Envy scratched the back of his head, seeming unconcerned. "Also, he was asking about details regarding the death of that Lieutenant Colonel I killed a couple of weeks ago… Hughes I think was his name."

"I remember him. He threw a knife into my head. How rude," Lust shook her head. "My, my. I guess we have quite the detective on our hands don't we?" she sighed.

"So… Colonel Mustang is trying to find out what happened to Hughes?" Envy asked, and then sighed; the answer was obvious. "He's become awfully nosy lately," he said, facing the cage that held number 66's body.

"I wonder if he's found any hard evidence," Lust said, hand on her hip. This Colonel was becoming a problem. Still, she was reluctant to kill a candidate for human sacrifice. Hopefully they could find a more… practical solution.

"If not, he's getting close," Envy informed her, finally morphing back to his normal appearance. "What do we do about it?"

"I had him transferred to Central because I thought it would be easier to keep an eye on him, but maybe it was a mistake…" Lust mused, shifting a little as Gluttony moved to stare at the cage behind her. "Guys like him are hard to handle. I wish he'd just stay out of trouble. After all, he's a leading candidate to be our human sacrifice."

"Were you able to get any info out of your connections?" Envy asked hopefully.

"Not a thing," Lust answered, shrugging. "Is he acting alone or following orders?" she asked, then sighed to show that she had no idea. "He's a hard man to figure out." She gracefully pulled herself up, off Gluttony's back, and faced Envy. "Still I have a feeling that my latest source will prove to be most fruitful," she said, thinking of the poor Jean Havoc, so desperate for a girl. Yes, she was confident that she could get all the information that she needed out of him. Honestly, she didn't know why Colonel Mustang surrounded himself with such idiots. Well, he was a human after all. Not attempting to fathom what went on in the minds of those apes, Lust started to leave the room.

Gluttony turned his head, and faithfully trotted after her as he saw she was leaving.

"Aw Gluttony, c'mon!" Envy cried, seeing the pile of bones that lay right where Gluttony had been sitting. "Don't just leave your mess here and take off. Geez!" He shook his head. That pig was disgusting! Suddenly, Envy looked over his shoulder as an idea occurred to him. "Hey Lust," he called, to the retreating figure.

She turned back to hear what he had to say.

"You need the Flame Colonel to stay put, right?" he asked. "Don't you think we should have another plan besides relying on your information network?"

"Why? Do you have a plan?" Lust asked, drawn in by the sadistic look in Envy's eyes.

"Noisy dogs need to be fed," Envy answered simply, looking at the bones at his feet.

Lust smiled; this was getting interesting. "Go on," she said.

Envy quickly explained his plan. "So once we execute the girl, everything's over. Mustang's need for justice is filled and he goes back to being a good little Colonel," he wrapped up, theatrically spreading his arms wide.

"And you think that this Maria Ross will look like a plausible suspect?" Lust asked.

Envy shrugged. "I looked like her when I followed Hughes to that telephone booth. There had to be witnesses. No real trial would convict her of course, but," he turned to Lust, an evil glint in his eye. "There are advantages to controlling the head military generals and the führer of a country. She'll be guilty if we say she's guilty."

Lust grinned. "Well, then, let the games begin," she said. She once more turned to leave, but a voice stopped her.

"You two are idiots."

She whirled around, and saw a young boy emerge from the shadows. "Pride," she said. "I see you're lurking in the shadows again." She jutted her bottom lip out, a pouting expression on her face. "Don't you know it isn't nice to eavesdrop?"

"Shouldn't you be at the mansion with your dear daddy?" Envy asked.

"Don't mock me." Pride said. "I was sent by father to check on you three, and I happened to hear your plan, Envy."

"Yeah, and what's wrong with it?" Envy asked defensively.

"There's a reason Mustang holds such a high rank at such a young age. He's not stupid. Any child could see through your little scheme. He would never believe the charges against Maria Ross without having any real evidence. It would just deepen his suspicion about the military." Pride stated.

"And?" Envy asked, insulted. "We can't do nothing. Sooner or later he's going to come across something important," he pointed out. "Are you suggesting we kill him? What about the promised day? There are only so many alchemists skilled enough to open the gate and return alive."

"I'm not suggesting anything of the sort. I'm saying that if we don't want to kill him, and he's going to find something out, we should delay him, cripple him. He doesn't know it, but he's working on a time limit," Pride said.

"What do you have in mind?" Lust asked.

"The colonel depends too much on his subordinates. They're his crutch; take them away and he falls."

"Are you saying we should frame one of his subordinates?" Lust asked. Oh, this was sounding more fun by the second.

"Not just one of his subordinates, his most trusted one." Pride answered. "That woman who follows him everywhere. First Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Wouldn't that just throw more suspicion onto the military?" Envy asked, pouting.

"Possibly, but it would distract him. If he doesn't believe she's guilty he'll be forced to spend a huge amount of time trying to prove her innocence. Of course, he'll ultimately fail and she'll be executed. If he believes she's guilty, then I've over estimated him, but the outcome would be ultimately the same as your original plan, only he'd be shaken. Disturbed that _she_ was the one to betray him by murdering his friend in cold blood."

Even Envy had to admit that it sounded like a fool-proof plan, but he still tried to cling to the shreds of his original plan. "But what about the witnesses? I chased after Hughes looking like Maria Ross."

Pride waved his hand showing how trivial that matter was. "We can get fake testimony just as easily, In fact, this way the information can be more accurate and more incriminating."

"What about the witnesses who saw me?"

Again Pride waved his hand nonchalantly. "We can silence them. They'll not interfere with the plan."

"Great," Envy muttered, but finally he accepted Pride's plan. "When do we start?"

Pride grinned. "Immediately."

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**A/N I know, no Royai, but this is just the prologue, and I promise it's coming. I have the first nine chapters written (part one of the story) so updates should be pretty regular. And another note, the first chapters follow the main story really closely, but it does stray away towards the later ones. Please drop a review if you have time, liked my story, or even if you want to complain about it.**


	2. The Bone

**A/N Hello people of the world who have clicked on my fanfiction! My next chapter is here. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed or put this story on favorites or their alert, you guys are the best!**

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Roy Mustang rolled out of bed at six in the morning. Groggily, he walked to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, trying to fully wake up. As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. He couldn't help thinking about how bad he looked. The circles under his eyes made it look like he hadn't slept in weeks. _Well, that's close enough,_ he thought. Ever since his team had made the transfer to Central, he had barley slept for more than a few hours at a time. He wasn't sure if it was the stress of the move, or, more likely, his researching leads on Maes' death obsessively.

He sighed and his mind (as it so often did) turned to the murder of his best friend. Mustang slumped against the wall. He slid to the floor, and ran his hands through his hair. It had only been a couple of weeks. It felt like years, and yet, sometimes when he hit a dead end, or found some new information he couldn't make sense of, for an instant, he told himself he would pass it along to Maes, forgetting the information was about _Maes' _death. Of course, it was only for that fraction of an instant. As soon as he thought it, he remembered everything. The phone call, the dropped photo, the shot that had killed his best friend. A shiver ran through Mustang's spine, and swore, yet again, that he would never let anything like that to someone he cared about again. Next time, he would save them.

Mustang sighed, and leaned his head against the wall behind him. A low chuckle vibrated from his throat as he thought how young and naïve he sounded. Like himself, before he had lost his ideals… before Ishval. Ishval. Everything in his life circled back to that, didn't it? Everything he had done in the past years had been to try and repair some of the damage he had caused. He knew that he could never atone for the things he had done, but he could at least try to help fix them.

As his gaze fell on the clock on his nightstand, he was jolted out of his thoughts; it was already six-thirty. "Dammit!" He cursed. Quickly, he grabbed his uniform and pulled it on. He glanced in the mirror, adjusted his collar, grabbed his coat and ran out the door.

In a few moments, he had jumped into his car and was heading to Central Command. Glancing away from the road for a moment, he flicked open his silver pocket watch to check the time. He was still later than he would have liked; he had been hoping that he could convince Sheska to let him into the archive rooms again. He wanted to put in a few hours of research before Lieutenant Hawkeye needed him in the office for paperwork. He didn't know why in the world Sheska came in so early in the morning, but it was probably the only time that he could look through the archives without fear of interruption, and since he wasn't technically supposed to be looking through them at all, that was definitely a necessity.

After a couple impatient minutes of driving, he had finally made it to Central Command. Mustang quickly walked through the numerous twists and turns until he came to the Records Department. As usual, Sheska was sitting at her desk, surrounded by a huge pile of books. Glancing around, he assured himself that she was the only one in the office before approaching her.

As his footfalls grew closer, she looked up from her book. "Oh! Colonel Mustang," she said, jumping in her seat a little.

"Hello, Sheska, how are you this morning?" he asked pleasantly.

"I- I'm fine," she answered, seeming a little flustered.

"I was wondering if you could let me into the archive room."

"Well, about that… yesterday, Captain Focker saw you leaving, and… well, I guess he figured out that I let you in…" she said hesitantly.

Mustang frowned. Captain Focker… he had been part of the investigation into Hughes' death. "What did he say?"

"Well, he asked me what you were researching… I told him what I knew you had looked up… I'm sorry."

"No, it's perfectly alright, you did the right thing." Mustang answered offhandedly; his mind was focused on Captain Focker. "Do you know if he reported the incident?"

"He told me that he would let it go this time, but not to let it happen again."

Mustang blinked; that got his attention. "Oh, of course. Thank you, I'll just be going…" With that, he left the room awkwardly.

* * *

"Well what am I supposed to do now?" he wondered aloud. For a few aimless minutes he wandered around, with no destination in mind. Luckily, his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd skipped breakfast, so he headed down to the mess.

It was mostly empty, besides the few soldiers who were just getting off night duty. He got a cup of coffee and a plate of breakfast. Sitting down at an empty table, he took a bite of his eggs, and was suddenly reminded why he ate as few meals here as he could he possibly could. Of course, the hunger pangs in his stomach enticed him to clean his plate.

After his meal, with nothing left to do, he finally headed towards the office. It seemed strangely big as he sat down at his desk, without anyone else there. His eyes roamed over his desk, and saw for once that it was completely empty. He ran his hand over the smooth wood, savoring the way it felt. _I think this is the first time I've actually seen my desk, _he thought, an amused smile on his face. Every morning when he came in, Lieutenant Hawkeye had already piled that day's paperwork on it, and by the end of the day, inevitably there were one or two stacks left unfinished. With a jolt, Mustang realized that the lieutenant must have stayed late to finish them all. _I wonder how long she was up, _he thought guiltily.

The sound of a door opening brought him out of his thoughts. He turned and saw the lieutenant walk in. Oh how he wished he had a camera to forever preserve the expression on her face when she saw him sitting at his desk. It was priceless. He grinned. "Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Colonel?" she asked, the shock seemed to have frozen her. She was halfway through the door, her hand still on the handle. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't get in early?" he asked innocently.

She gave him a look of pure contempt. "You've never been here before nine in your life," she stated. "Sir," she added as an afterthought.

"That's not true," he protested, then considered what she had said. "Alright, maybe it's a little true…"

"So what are you doing here?" she asked, her features softening to a look of concern.

"I was trying to research Maes' death," he sighed.

"Sir," the lieutenant started, concern again showing on her face.

Mustang brushed it aside. "Don't worry I'm fine. I can handle myself," he said, it came out harsher than he meant it to. He was mad that he hadn't been able to do any research and now he was taking it out on her. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" he trailed off.

"It's fine, sir."

He nodded. They both stood there for a second. "So, what do you do here this early?" he asked, trying to break the tension.

A sly grin appeared on her face. "Well, I usually go and get the newest batch of paperwork, and since you're here _so_ early, I guess that you can start on it immediately."

Mustang groaned. "Can't I just sleep instead?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No." She walked by his desk, placing the morning paper on it as she passed. She didn't look at him at all as she continued to her desk. She slipped off her coat lay it on her chair, and walked out the office again, going to get the paperwork.

Mustang was almost sure he heard her mutter: "Who knows, we might actually finish today." Under her breath as she closed the door. He smiled after her and unfolded the paper she had left and began to read.

* * *

The lieutenant kept Mustang and the rest of the team busy right up until noon, when they all had an hour off for lunch.

Havoc stretched, a cigarette hanging out of mouth. "Well, chief I'm meeting someone for lunch. I have to go. Don't want to be late." he said.

"Yeah, I'm heading down to the mess." Fuery said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

Breda said that he too was going to the mess for food. "You coming, lieutenant?" Breda asked, turning to Hawkeye.

She looked up briefly. "No, I have to finish these papers."

Breda shrugged. "How about you, boss?"

Mustang placed a hand on his stomach and shook his head. "I already had the crap that the mess calls 'food' for breakfast. One meal there a day is plenty."

"Suit yourself." Havoc said, and the three of them left the office.

Hawkeye turned back to her work.

For a few minutes, Mustang tried to follow her lead and finish the report he was working on, but he just couldn't focus. Finally, he gave up. He grabbed his coat and turned to the lieutenant. "I'm going to get some real food," he said.

She didn't look up. "You have to be back in an hour, sir."

"There's a restaurant down the street. I'll only be gone a second."

"Yes, sir."

Mustang paused, an idea occurring to him. "Lieutenant, would you like to accompany me to lunch?" he asked.

She looked up, surprised. "No thank you, sir. I have a lot of work to do."

A feeling of guilt overcame Mustang as remembered the pile of paperwork from the day before that was no longer on his desk. Now that he was looking, he noticed that the lieutenant had circles almost as big as his under her eyes. "Come on. It'll only be an hour. Your paperwork will still be here when you get back. And besides, you need a break."

"I'm sorry sir, but I really have to finish this."

A small smile played along the corners of his lips. "Don't make me make that an order, Lieutenant."

Hawkeye sighed and glared at him, but in the end she got up and followed him out the door.

* * *

"Isn't this nice?" Mustang asked the lieutenant as they were seated.

She didn't answer; just glared at him.

Mustang sighed. It was going to be a long meal if she refused to talk to him the through the entire thing.

Seeming intent on disproving him, the lieutenant ordered the first thing on the menu, and as soon as it came, she started to wolf it down, clearly trying to get back to the office as soon as possible.

Just to annoy her, Mustang took his time deciding what to get. Changing his mind back and forth between two dishes. Finally, after the lieutenant's eyes lingered a little too long on her gun for Mustang's liking, he ordered. Still, once his food arrived, he ate slowly, taking his time, savoring each bite. By the time he was about a quarter of the way through his meal, she had finished and was sitting back in her chair, staring at the clock on the wall.

"Sir," she started as the minute hand got closer and closer to one o' clock.

"Don't worry Lieutenant, we'll be back before our lunch break's over."

They went back to sitting in silence. When they only had ten minutes to return to the office, the lieutenant started speaking again. "We really have to get back, sir."

Mustang sighed, but he knew that she was right. It was time to bring up the reason he had brought her here. "Alright, lieutenant."

She gave a sigh of relief and started to get up, but Mustang grabbed her arm.

"Wait a moment. There's one thing that I want to talk about with you first."

She looked confused, but sat back down.

"Now then. How late did you stay last night?" he asked.

The look of confusion on her face deepened. "Until about ten, sir."

"How much paperwork did you fill out after the rest of us went home?" he asked.

"Everything that we hadn't completed."

"And, let's see… you came in at what, seven thirty this morning?"

"Yes, sir."

"And why did you come in so early?"

"I wanted to get a head start on the paperwork for today."

"What about yesterday?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, sir?" she asked, not sure what he was asking.

"When did you come in yesterday?" he clarified.

"The same as today."

Mustang sighed and put down his fork. "Lieutenant, that's a fifteen hour day! It's not healthy."

"With all due respect, sir, I think that's for me to decide." She said, coldly.

"It's not a decision you can make. It's a fact." Mustang pointed out.

She glared at him. "I'm fine, sir. You don't have to worry about me."

"Yes I do, you're my subordinate, lieutenant."

She looked him in the eyes. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Of course," Mustang answered, frown deepening.

"Ever since Brigadier General Hughes died," she started.

Mustang stiffened visibly.

Her eyes softened when she saw his reaction, but she still continued. "We've been worried about you. You haven't been sleeping well. Also, you've been… busy with investigations. The entire team is trying to pick up the slack."

Mustang looked down, ashamed. "Please lieutenant. If there's work I haven't done _I'll_ stay late to finish it. _You_ shouldn't have to."

The lieutenant sighed. "Sir, I promised to always watch your back, and sometimes it means doing things like this. You're worrying about my health, but you haven't had a good night's sleep in days. Worry about yourself, sir."

Mustang blinked. He had no idea what to say in response to that. So instead, he just got up. Turning towards the door, he asked "Coming, Lieutenant?"

She got up and followed him out the restaurant.

* * *

Mustang and Hawkeye were walking down the sidewalk leading back towards Central Command, when a group of three officers walked up to them. The man in front was a colonel. He had light brown hair that was receding slightly, and wore glasses that seemed too small for his face. He was flanked by two lieutenants. One was a little pudgy and had a distinctive Xingese look while the other was thin and looked pure Amestrian.

"Can I help you with something?" Mustang asked, as they stopped right in front of him and the Lieutenant.

"Are you Colonel Mustang?" The man in front asked.

"Yes," Mustang answered. The tone of his voice fully conveyed his suspicion. What was this all about?

"And is that your subordinate, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye?" The man asked, directing his gaze at the woman standing behind Mustang.

"Yes." Mustang didn't like the way this man looked at his lieutenant. He shifted slightly, blocking her. "What's going-" he started to ask, but was cut off by the man.

"I'm Colonel Henry Douglas from Military Police Headquarters. I need you to come with us please," he said, talking to Hawkeye.

Surprise was clear on her face. "What? Why?" she asked.

The three men ignored her questions. The thin Amestrian man stepped forward and held out his hand. "Your gun, please."

Robotically Hawkeye unclipped the strap that kept it in her holster and handed it over. She then unbuttoned her jacket and removed her two concealed guns from her shoulder holsters and handed them to the man as well.

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"What the hell is going on?" Mustang demanded, outraged. "I'm her commanding officer! Tell me what this is all about!"

Henry Douglas turned to face him. "We've been ordered to take Lieutenant Hawkeye in for questing," he stated.

"Regarding what?"

"The murder of Brigadier General Maes Hughes."

Mustang took a step back. What was this? "That's ridiculous! Why would she know anything?" he asked.

"She's been named as a prime suspect." The man answered.

"Th- that's impossible!" Hawkeye cried, speaking up in her own defense. "I wasn't even in Central when the murder happened!"

"We have reason to believe otherwise. Now please come with us. Do not try to resist."

"No!" Mustang shouted, stepping in front of the Lieutenant. "I demand to see some evidence!"

"Sir, if we have to arrest you as well we will." The Xingese lieutenant said, stepping forward.

Hawkeye quickly glanced at the colonel, then at the men. "I'll come with you," she said, pushing past him.

"Good," Colonel Douglas said. The two lieutenants stood on either side of her, making sure she didn't run. They walked away, escorting her back to Military Police Headquarters for interrogation.

Mustang watched them go, unmoving. Was this really happening? It couldn't be… they couldn't actually think that Lieutenant Hawkeye had anything to do with Hughes' murder, but the evidence was right before his eyes. She was getting led off by military police. Still, he couldn't move. Shock bound him to the spot. Minutes past, and by the time he found his senses returning to him, she was long gone. _Dammit! _He thought. He would get to the bottom of this. With that, he took off towards Military Police Headquarters.

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**A/N Good, bad? Please let me know! I'd love to hear any feedback you might have to offer!**


	3. Baited

**A/N Okay, folks! Here is chapter three. Sorry if there are any mistakes or anything, my internet went out and I'm not sure if it saved properly. I double checked it later so it should be fine, but sorry if I missed anything! This isn't exactly my favorite chapter, but I promise the story gets better! And, this chapter misposted or something, so sorry if you got two emails that it came up!**

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The two lieutenants stayed behind at the doors of the Military Police Headquarters, guarding them, making sure no one got in or out. Colonel Douglas then led Hawkeye to an interrogation room. There, they were joined by two more lieutenants. One had huge glasses and the other had a ridiculous mustache. _How dangerous do they think I am? _Hawkeye wondered, but soon realized that only one of the lieutenants was there to guard her. The one with the large glasses pulled a chair up to the interrogation table, got out a folder and a pen, and began recording everything said.

"Please state your name and rank," Colonel Douglas requested.

"First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

"And can you tell me where you were the day Maes Hughes was murdered?" he asked.

"Yes, I was in East City." Hawkeye answered.

"Can you prove that?"

Suddenly, her heart sank. On the day Hughes had been killed, she'd had the day off. She hadn't gone into work. Early in the morning she'd walked Hayate, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing in her apartment. She hadn't even gone to the grocery store; she had just eaten what she'd already had. No one had seen her, and she hadn't talked to anyone, even over the phone. She had no alibi.

Colonel Douglas nodded at her silence, as if he had expected it. "So you can't prove it? Then, can you tell me what this is?" he asked pushing something across the table.

Hawkeye picked it up and looked at it. "It's a train ticket, sir," she said. She looked closer and saw that it was dated the day of the murder, and listed the destination as Central. "This isn't mine-" she started but was cut off.

"Save it lieutenant. We found it the pocket of a pair of pants, at your apartment."

Her eyes widened. "That's impossible!" she cried, but then what the colonel had said really sunk in. "Wait, you searched my apartment?" she asked, incredulous. "On what grounds?"

"The grounds that you're a murder suspect," Colonel Douglas answered calmly.

"That's ridiculous!"

Douglas ignored her protests. "Besides the ticket we have many witnesses testifying that they saw you buy the ticket, and ride the train to Central."

"That's impossible," Hawkeye said again, but with less conviction; she knew it wouldn't do any good. All of their evidence so far had been manufactured. It was clear that someone was trying to frame her. Who it was on the other hand wasn't so clear.

"We also have witnesses who say they saw someone who matches your description follow Hughes to the telephone booth where he was found. They then say that they saw this person flee the scene. When we showed them your picture they confirmed that it was you they had seen."

"I wasn't even in Central!" Hawkeye cried, still trying to defend herself, even knowing it would be futile.

"Let's continue," he said, again ignoring her protest. "You've shot people before, correct?"

Hawkeye looked down and nodded. "Yes, sir. I was a sniper in the Ishvalan Rebellion." She lifted her head back up.

"Have you ever shot someone at point blank range, though?" he asked.

"Yes." Hawkeye answered, looking him in the eye.

"So you know that the blood splatters."

"Yes," she said slowly, suspicious.

He held out his hand then, and the mustached man came forward and handed him her guns. He carefully inspected each one. "These look as though they've been cleaned recently," he commented, picking one up and examining it in the light.

"I clean my guns once a week, sir." Hawkeye answered.

"Really? You expect me to believe that it's just a coincidence?"

"Yes."

He sighed, and reached into his pocket and placed something on the table. When he removed his hand she saw that it was a bullet. "This is the bullet that killed Brigadier General Hughes. The murderer used only one shot. Its caliber is .45, the same as standard issue military guns. Can you tell me what caliber this gun is?" He asked, holding up one of Hawkeye's guns.

".45." she answered, miserably.

"Thank you. And," he said "Here we have your request form for additional ammunition. Does this look correct?"

He handed her a sheet of paper, and immediately she recognized her own handwriting. A quick scan of it told her that everything on the sheet was in order. No one had tampered with it. "Yes, sir. That's the form I filled out."

Colonel Douglas spent a second reading over it. "There are many incidents listed in this report, lieutenant." He said.

"Well, up until a few weeks ago I was working in East City. It's not exactly the most stable region, sir."

"Of course. It says here that you fired multiple rounds from at least three different guns on many occasions."

"Yes."

"Tell me, did they recover every shot you fired?"

Hawkeye was taken aback. "No, sir. But-" she started.

"Could you have slipped an extra bullet into one of these reports?"

"Yes," Hawkeye answered angrily. This was ridiculous! The report stated that she fired over twelve bullets from the .45 caliber alone! Did he expect them to care about recovering every single bullet she shot, especially since after she fired they were almost always faced with greater priorities, like tracking down Scar, or some other important mission?

"Thank you, that will be all," he said getting up leaving the room. He was followed by the lieutenant with the glasses who had been recording the conversation. The other lieutenant stayed.

Hawkeye watched them go. She couldn't believe what had happened in the past few hours. They were blaming Hughes' murder on her? It was crazy… and no one seemed to understand that except for her… well, and the colonel. _Oh, god. The colonel!_ Hawkeye thought. She was instantly furious with herself. This whole time she had just been thinking about herself, when she should have been thinking about him. What would this look like for him? If his own subordinate, personal aid no less, was accused of murdering a good friend of his? His political career could be over. A commanding officer was supposed to be responsible for their subordinate's actions, but this was extenuating circumstances, right? There was no way he could be faulted because she had murdered someone! She sighed. _Allegedly murdered someone, _she reminded herself, and an ironic smile touched her lips. There was no help for her if she was already thinking of herself as guilty. Her thoughts were interrupted as the interrogation room door opened. She looked up, for a moment hoping that she would see the colonel standing there, but to her immense disappointment it was just some other man she had never met. _He's not an officer, just an enlisted man,_ she noted with some surprise.

"Hold out your wrist, please," he commanded.

"What're you doing?" she asked, reaching her arm out, wrist upturned.

He didn't answer, just reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like two small lengths of chain. He lay one the table and encircled the other around her wrist. He then drew a pair of pliers from his other pocket. With a quick snap he secured the chain around her wrist. In an instant he had repeated the motion with the other chain. "There," he said, slid the pliers back into his pocket and left the room.

Hawkeye looked at her wrist and saw that the chains were actually bracelets. One had her name, Riza Hawkeye, engraved on it, and the other had W6186 engraved on it. With a jolt, she realized that they were prison identification bracelets. So that was it, then. She was officially a prisoner. It was ridiculous, but the thought struck her. Like everything that had happened hadn't really sunk in until she saw those bracelets dangling from her wrist. With robotic motions, she put her wrist in her lap and stared stonily at the wall across from her, not wanting to think about her seemingly hopeless situation any longer.

* * *

"Let me in!" Mustang yelled at the two men who were guarding Military Police Headquarters.

"I'm sorry, sir," One of them said, not sounding sorry at all.

"I have a right to see my subordinate!" Mustang shouted angrily. Truthfully, he had no idea what the protocols for military arrests were, but in his experience not many people tended to argue when a higher up was yelling at them; they just did whatever the higher up wanted. Unfortunately, these two men seemed immune to his wrath.

"We're under strict orders not to let anyone in or out unless Colonel Douglas gives us express permission to," the other one answered.

"Then get him!"

"I can't. He's in the middle of interrogating Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Mustang turned and kicked the wall. "This is ridiculous! She did nothing wrong!"

"That's not for you to decide, sir."

Mustang stared at the man who had spoken. "I didn't just decide that! I know it's true for an absolute fact!"

"She's going to need more than your testimony to prove her innocence."

"Just let me in the building! I just want to talk to her!" Mustang shouted, even though he realized that it was in vain. These two men weren't letting him in anytime soon.

"We can't, sir."

Mustang's hand made a definite twitch towards his pocket where his ignition gloves were nestled. Oh, the satisfaction he would get from burning these two belligerent men… _No! That would do nothing to help the lieutenant's position!_ He told himself, angrily, even though he would never really burn them… still it was a rather satisfying thought. Since intimidation was clearly not working, Mustang switched to a different tact to try to get the men to open the doors. "Just get your commanding officer, I'm sure that we can work this out…"

"We can't. He said specifically that no one was to interrupt the interrogation."

"Do have any idea when is the soonest possible time you could let me in?" Mustang asked through gritted teeth.

"You can't come inside until Colonel Douglas tells us you can." One of them said.

To hell with flames, now Mustang just wanted to punch him in the face. "And do you know when that could be?" he asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"He has to finish the interrogation." The other man answered.

Now Mustang wanted to punch both of them. Did they have express orders to be as unhelpful as possible? They had been over all of this before. "Then when will the interrogation be over?"

"We don't know."

Mustang turned away from the two infuriating lieutenants, and to his surprise, he saw Havoc running up to the doors.

"Chief!" Havoc seemed surprised to see Mustang there.

The surprise was mirrored on Mustang's face. "Havoc! What are you doing here?"

Havoc, put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He took a moment to catch his breath before answering Mustang's question. "When we got back from the mess and neither of you were in the office we got worried and went out looking for you. When I asked Major Armstrong if he had seen either of you, he said he's heard a rumor that Lieutenant Hawkeye got taken in for questioning about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' death! I came here as fast as I could." He paused a second before continuing. "So it's true then?"

"Yes." Mustang replied.

"That's crazy!" Havoc cried.

"I know," Mustang sighed, leaning against the wall. "I don't what's going on, but something's very wrong here."

"You don't think," Havoc started, then saw the lieutenants standing guard at the doors and dropped his voice. "You don't think this has something to Hughes' death, do you?" He asked in a whisper.

"Well I'd assume so, seeing as that was why she was arrested in the first place." Mustang said, annoyed, then sighed again. "I know what you mean. I don't know. I just don't know."

"What're we going to do?"

"Well those bastards refused to let me in," Mustang said, jabbing his thumb behind him at the two lieutenants, not bothering to keep his voice down.

They both glared furiously at him, but didn't say anything.

Havoc looked back at them. "Well insulting them isn't going to help, sir." He pointed out.

"Havoc, reason didn't help. No matter what I say about them they're not letting me in to see her."

"So what are we going to do?" he asked again.

A determined expression appeared on Mustang's face. "Assemble the team."

* * *

**A/N That's it really nothing more to say except please please please review. Oh, and if you have any time please check out eamcline's profile on deviantart, she was nice enough to make the cover art for me! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Lies

**A/N So, it is now ten at night, not the ideal time to be posting fanfiction but whatever. Since I'm too lazy to read through this chapter, I apologize in advance for any misspelled words. This might be my least favorite chapter that I've written so far, so sorry. As you know the amazing eamcline provided the cover art for this fic, she's sitting right next to me while I'm writing this so please check out her deviantart profile.**

* * *

Soon the team (except for Warrant Officer Falman who was watching over Barry the Chopper) was sitting in the office, brainstorming what to do about Hawkeye. Unfortunately they were coming up with nothing.

"Can't we just prove she's innocent?" Fuery asked.

"Not until we know what evidence they have against her." Breda answered.

"And we can't find that out until they let the Colonel into see her," Havoc continued, lighting yet another cigarette.

"Why do they even think the Lieutenant had anything to do with the murder?" Fuery asked.

"They don't." Mustang said.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"Someone's framing her."

"Where'd you get that from, chief?" Havoc asked.

"It's the only thing that makes any sense at all. Someone… who? It has to be a higher up… they'd have to have quite a bit of power to pull something like this off." Mustang was muttering to himself, he seemed to have forgotten that there were other people in the room as well.

"Alright. Someone's trying to frame her… but won't that make it even harder to prove she's innocent?" Havoc asked.

Mustang sighed and sat down behind his desk, and laid his head in his hands. "Not necessarily. It depends on if they did a good job of the framing. If they were sloppy, we'll have her out by tomorrow."

"From what I've seen of it, it doesn't seem very sloppy, sir." Breda pointed out.

"Yeah, but why would they go after Hawkeye?" Fuery said, turning towards Mustang. "I mean if they were just trying to cover up who the real killer is, aren't there a lot more believe suspects they could pin it on?"

"He's got a point," Havoc said, sitting up straighter, pointing at the small master sergeant. "She wasn't even in Central, right? I mean, the murder happened before we were transferred. Why would someone try to frame her?"

"So then, what is this? Is it supposed to be some sort of message?" Breda suggested.

"Yes," Mustang said, turning away from them.

"For who?" Fuery asked.

"Me."

The meeting ended with nothing more said.

* * *

For the rest of the day, the four men tried to behave as though nothing was wrong. Mustang went to pointless meetings that ultimately accomplished nothing, run by generals who had never seen a day of battle in their life. The rest of team somehow managed to finish the day's paperwork. (Which was quite a feat since without Hawkeye to intimate them into working, they had never even come close to finishing ever before.) The day passed without many words spoken between them, but for what it lacked in conversations, it made up for in meaningful glances. The silent room was full of communication. The looks conveyed worry for not only Hawkeye, but also for the colonel.

By the end of the day, everyone was on edge. They'd had no new information about Hawkeye. Far from content, they all finally parted ways, each heading towards their own living arrangements. Havoc watched Breda and Fuery head towards the military apartments. He was staying there as well. He and Breda weren't actually supposed to stay in military quarters, being second lieutenants. There was no official rule stating that they couldn't live there, but it was expected that anyone with a rank higher than warrant officer would find their own lodgings, so there'd be enough room for lower ranking soldiers who had smaller salaries. Of course, it was to be expected what with the transfer. Havoc was planning on moving out of the apartments as soon as he had time to find a nice place he could afford.

"Are you coming?" Breda asked, turning back when he realized that Havoc wasn't with them.

Havoc opened his mouth to answer, but then he caught sight of the colonel pulling on his jacket. Havoc had known the colonel the longest out of everyone in the team, except for Hawkeye of course. He had always wondered about their relationship. They seemed closer than just commanding officer and subordinate. He kept his questions to himself, however; if something was going on between them, he didn't want to get involved in it. Now, he could tell that the colonel was hanging on by a thread. The others might not see it; the chief was pretty good at hiding it, but he couldn't fool Havoc. Havoc was suddenly overcome with the fear that the colonel might do something stupid. The colonel preached about keeping a level head, especially to the Fullmetal kid, but when someone he cared about was in danger, he lost all guise of control, and became a reckless fool. "I'll catch up with you later, Breda," Havoc answered, still watching the colonel.

Breda saw where he was looking, and nodded in understanding. He then pulled Fuery out the door, leaving Havoc alone with the colonel.

"Just because Lieutenant Hawkeye isn't here doesn't mean I need a replacement babysitter," Mustang said without turning around.

Havoc shrugged it off. "Don't think of me as a replacement babysitter, chief. I'm more of a replacement body guard."

The colonel glared at him.

Havoc sighed, but gave an explanation of his motives. "We just decided that someone is trying to send you a warning. When she gets back, Hawkeye would kill me if she knew I let you walk around alone when someone's out to get you." Of course, he also wanted to stay with the colonel because he was genuinely worried that the famed Flame Alchemist might do something stupid like storm Military Police Headquarters to get Hawkeye out, but for some reason, he decided it was best to keep that reason to himself.

"I fully capable of protecting myself," the colonel stated, gesturing to the pocket where he kept his ignition gloves.

Havoc leaned forward in his chair, staring out the window. "Does it look like rain to you, sir? Because to me, it looks like it might start pouring any second."

Again, the colonel was silent, just glared at him. Truthfully, the sky was pretty clear; a stray cloud here and there, but nothing too threatening. Even though, Mustang got Havoc's point. "Fine." Not waiting to see if his subordinate followed him, Mustang left the office.

Havoc grabbed his coat and exited after the colonel.

* * *

As they walked down the sidewalk, the two military officers ran into a couple familiar faces; Edward and Alphonse Elric.

"Colonel?" Ed asked, surprised.

"Hello, Fullmetal," Mustang answered calmly.

His surprise wearing off, Ed's expression morphed into to one of horror and disgust.

Al glanced at his brother, and seeing that he wasn't about to continue the conversation, sighed and said politely, "It's good to see you, Colonel. Lieutenant." He bowed his head to both of them. "Why are you in Central?"

"I was transferred to Central a few weeks ago. What brings you two here today?"

"I'm here for research," Ed answered, cryptically. He was clearly not happy to have run into the colonel.

Al gave Ed a significant glance. It clearly told him that they could trust the colonel, and Ed shouldn't be a brat, after all, they were indebted to the colonel.

Ed sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I've been trying to find information on the Philosopher's Stone and homunculi," Ed muttered, clarifying 'research.'

Mustang turned sharply. He wasn't surprised about the Philosopher's Stone; the two boys had been looking for it for over three years, but homunculi? "Homunculi? What are you, stupid?" Every alchemist knew that homunculus were an alchemic impossibility. Not to mention illegal. "You know the rules. 'No alchemist shall attempt to create a human being.' You think the military would leave information like that lying around?" Mustang asked.

"Yeah, well…" Ed said, annoyed. "Also, me Al, and a friend wanted to visit Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. We went to the Investigations Office, but couldn't find him. Do you know where he is?"

"You mean you haven't heard-" Havoc started, but the colonel interrupted him.

"He's gone."

"Huh?" Ed asked, looking at the colonel.

Mustang made a split second decision. "He moved back to the countryside." He lied, starting to walk away.

Havoc stared at Mustang.

"Things have been dangerous here lately… So he took his wife and kid and moved back to the country. He's going to take over the family business. You won't find him here." It wasn't all a lie, but still, Mustang couldn't look any of them in the eye, not even Havoc.

"Really? That's too bad." Ed said, looking disappointed.

"Being a soldier is a dangerous profession," Al pointed out.

"Still, I wish we could've seen him…"

"The Philosopher's Stone and homunculi, right? I'll let you know if I find anything. Let's go, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir," Havoc said, running to catch up with the colonel, who had already started.

The colonel hesitated for a second. "Oh, and, Fullmetal… Try to stay out of trouble. Don't get reckless." He told the young alchemist, without turning around.

"Alright. I'll be careful." Ed said, seeming extremely surprised at Mustang's concern.

The colonel continued to walk.

Havoc started to follow, but glanced back. The Elric brothers had already turned and continued down their path. With a sigh he turned and hurried to Mustang's side. "What was that, chief? Why didn't you tell them truth?"

"There's no need for them to know the truth yet. In order for those boys to continue to move forward, the fewer obstacles that are in their way the better. Besides, with the precarious situation Lieutenant Hawkeye's in, we don't want to involve Fullmetal in this. He's too hotheaded. There's no telling what he'll do. He's a variable. He might endanger the lieutenant. It's best if he has no idea what's going on." Mustang answered, but too himself, he sighed. Those were some valid worries, but he knew the truth was that he was just as much of a softie as Major Armstrong was.

Something caught Havoc's eye. He paused, and when he got a better look, all the color drained from his face. "Uh, Colonel, I don't think that's going to matter," Havoc said.

"What? Why?"

"The kid's going to find out on his own, look!" He answered, pointing to a small newsstand right in front of them, displaying the evening paper.

Mustang squinted at it for a second, unsure of what Havoc was talking about, but soon he found the article that had caught the Lieutenant's eye. The headline of the article read, 'Brigadier General Killer Brought to Justice.'

"What is this?" Mustang shouted grabbing the paper.

"Excuse me, sir... You have to pay for that," a terrified looking paperboy said.

Mustang threw a few cenz at boy. "First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has been convicted of the murder of Brigadier General Maes Hughes!" He said, reading the sub headline.

"But they haven't even had a trial, yet!" Havoc said.

"It seems someone doesn't care." Mustang said, gripping the paper so tight, his knuckles went white. "We have to get her out of there, or they'll execute her."

The two men looked at each other for a second, then both started racing back to the office, to hopefully catch the others and find a way out of this mess once and for all.

* * *

**A/N There you go! My sucky chapter. Please please please leave a review! I love all you amazingly lovely readers! Thanks to anyone who reviewed or Favorited this story or put it on alert! After this I'm probably going to slow my updates to once a week on Friday. Sorry, but this story is fast approaching the edge of where I've written and I want to stay ahead. Anyway, stay tuned for the next installment in which we meet Barry the Chopper! Duh duh duh!**


	5. The Article

**A/N As promised chapter five! With special appearances from Barry and Ed. I actually like this chapter, but it does mirror the manga extremely closely, so I apologize if in the midst of this you feel like nothing new is going. I promise its just a few more chapters of this!**

* * *

Vato Falman hadn't signed on for this. Sure he had told the colonel that he wanted to help, but he hadn't meant like this! He'd been babysitting Barry the Chopper for ten days now. All day long… nothing to do. And the worst part this was all coming out of his sick days! Oh god, what had he done to deserve this brand of hell? He pushed his dinner around his plate; he wasn't hungry. Listening to detailed recounts of Barry's more horrendous murders tended to make one lose their appetite.

Luckily, a voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Here's your newspaper," it called from outside the door.

Falman's mood brightened considerably. "Oh. The one thing I have to look forward to each day," he muttered as he opened the apartment door.

"Are you kiddin' me? You really get your jollies from reading that boring old rag?" Barry asked, lounging in his chair.

"Shut up!" Falman said, annoyed; this was the only source of enjoyment he got on this horrid assignment. No one was going to ruin that for him, especially not that chop-happy sociopath. "Since I'm cooped up in here, this is my only link to the outside world!" he stated. As he reached down to pick up the paper, his back cracked, as if to prove that he hadn't been doing anything.. He flipped it open, in a quick, slightly angry motion. "And who's fault do you think that is?" he asked, taking his annoyance out on Barry. He scanned the paper, and his eyes widened as he saw the small article nestled in the corner beneath the fold. In second, he dropped the paper and grabbed the phone. "This is warrant officer Falman calling from an outside line!" He shouted into the mouthpiece. "Please connect me to Colonel Mustang." He had to find out what was going on!

"Hey! What's with all the yappin'?" Barry asked, getting up and walking over to where Falman was.

"Yes, the code is…" Falman started, but Barry droned him out.

"Huh? What's going on?" Barry asked loudly, catching sight of the paper.

Falman tried his best to ignore the empty suit of armor behind him, as he quickly gave the code to operator.

"Heeey, it's that good lookin' gun-toting lieutenant!" Barry asked, seeing Hawkeye's photo.

Falman wasn't sure the operator had heard the code over Barry, but she must have because she connected him to the colonel. "Colonel, this is regarding Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' murder!" Falman said, before Mustang had a chance to say anything.

"Hey Falman, gimme the phone!" Barry said, tapping the military officer's back

"What?" Falman asked, taking the phone off his ear, and covering the mouthpiece.

"Just hand it over! I got something to say!" Barry said, holding out his hand.

"What? No!" Falman argued, pulling it away.

A brief struggle ensued, ultimately leaving Barry the victor, phone in his grasp. "Hey, Mustang! Did you see the newspaper? There's an interesting article in there!" Barry said, holding the a few inches away from his head, allowing Falman to catch some of what was said on the other line.

"What happened to Falman? What're you doing, B-" The colonel stopped suddenly. After a short pause, he started again, sporting a completely different tone of voice. "Bunny darling! Long time no see!" he said, in a disgustingly mushy voice. "You must really miss me for you to ask Falman to call me during work!" Mustang gave a short laugh.

Barry and Falman stared at each other, neither had any idea what was going on.

"But you know you're not supposed to call me on the military line," Mustang continued. His voice had lost some of his mushiness. He seemed to be trying to tell them something in that sentence.

Both Barry and Falman gave a little gasp as they realized what the colonel was doing.

Luckily, Barry proved to be good at improv, for he immediately hopped onto the table where the phone was sitting and got into the character of the colonel's 'bunny darling.' "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" He cried in a slightly disturbing falsetto voice. "Your little bunnykins just _had_ to talk to you! There's something that I just had to talk to you about, baby!"

The colonel seemed to hesitate on the other line. "Alright. I'll call you back from an outside line, just hold you horses."

"I wuv you!" Barry cooed into the phone. It clicked off as the colonel hung up. Barry put the phone back.

For a few tense moments, neither of them said anything, just stared at it waiting for it to ring again. Finally it did. Barry picked it up immediately.

"It's me," Mustang stated.

"Don't you ever make an ass out of me again!" Barry said angrily.

"Relax. Your little improv may have just saved all of our skins. If I talk on the military phone, there's a chance that the line might be tapped. What do you want, Barry?" Mustang asked.

"About what we were talking about earlier… I can get Hawkeye out of the penitentiary."

Falman froze. Wasn't Barry getting a little ahead of himself? To his surprise, Mustang didn't protest immediately.

There was a pause on the other line. Finally, the colonel spoke. "How?"

What? Shouldn't they try to get her out legally first? _Well, technically I've spent the last ten days participating illegal operations, _Falman thought. _But a prison break is in a completely different league from keeping Barry from the higher-ups' notice!_

"Right through the front gate." Barry gave a maniacal laugh.

"Then what?" Mustang asked, seeming to be talking to himself more than Barry. "We'll have to hide her or get her out of the country somehow; as soon as the escape's reported the entire military will be after her." There was another pause. Mustang quickly explained his plan to Barry. "Can you get her somewhere no one will interfere?"

"Yeah, sure."

Barry glanced back at Falman, then moved the phone closer to his head, so Falman couldn't hear what the colonel said next.

"Let's see... Somewhere in the warehouse district would be best. Second Street, that's good. It's kinda dark so it's a good place to kill people." Barry answered the inaudible question.

Falman looked up suddenly, surprise clear on his face. What was going on? The colonel wasn't going to… kill the lieutenant, right? There was no way. But then what was Barry talking about? Falman hoped fervently that it was just Barry's usual obsession with murder, but all Falman could think about was the fire in Mustang's eyes when he had asked Barry if he had been the one who killed Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. "Barry, what's going on? What's the colonel planning?" he asked.

Barry ignored him and continued talking to Mustang. "So, you want me to meet ya there?"

Again, Falman didn't really catch what Mustang said, except for maybe something about Barry not being allowed to kill any MPs.

"Yeah, yeah, you think Hawkeye would let me? I don't wanna get on her bad side."

Falman strained his ears to hear Mustang's response, but nothing. He thought that he might have caught his name, but it might've just been his imagination.

Barry turned around and eyed the warrant officer.

"What?" Falman asked apprehensively. "Barry what's going-" he never got a chance to finish the question; Barry hit him in the head with the telephone, and he slid to the floor unconscious.

* * *

Mustang hung up the phone, staring at it bit. Knocking Falman out wasn't exactly the way he would've dealt with the situation, though he had to admit that it did save time. He let out his breath. The first part of his plan was in motion, now he just had to do his part. Quickly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his research notebook. He scribbled a list of ingredients down on it, all the time trying not to think about the finer points of his plan. In order for it to work, everyone had to believe that he'd killed the lieutenant. And in order for that to happen, he had to pretend like he'd killed her. His lieutenant. He shuddered, but still clung resolutely to his plan; it was the only way to keep her safe. He would do what it took, he couldn't risk her. She had been with him ever since Ishval, keeping him standing while all the time watching his back. He'd be damned if he let someone take her away from him now. With that thought on his mind, he ripped the page out of the notebook and handed it to Breda who was waiting patiently for him right outside the phone booth. "Lieutenant, bring me the things on this list right away."

"Pork meat and bones… carbon… ammonia… lime… phosphorus… sulfur… What is all this, sir?" He asked, reading the list.

"All the ingredients for one charred corpse," Mustang answered, refusing to look at his subordinate, instead he lifted his head up, and stared at the sky. He couldn't help noticing that it was threatening to rain.

"Y-you're going to transmute a human being?" Breda asked, shocked.

"Of course not. I'm just going to transmute something that looks like a human corpse." Mustang opened his mouth to explain the details of the course to Breda, but he couldn't. He was going to transmute something that was supposed to be the lieutenant's, burned and broken corpse. His throat constricted and he closed his mouth.

Breda stared at the colonel for a second, not catching on. His eyes lit up as he finally realized what exactly the colonel was planning. "But they'll find out when they do an autopsy!" he protested.

_What should I do then? Leave her there to die?_ Mustang thought angrily. On the outside however, he was calm. So instead, he responded to Breda with, "When I'm done, the body will be burned to charcoal through and through." The words were like poison on his tongue.

"But what about dental records?" Breda asked.

"I have a copy of Hawkeye's dental records at the office."

Breda blanched at that. "Y-you knew it was going to come to this?" he asked.

"Human teeth are primarily made of calcium, phosphorus, and a small amount of sodium," Mustang said, ignoring Breda's question. "Simple enough to transmute as long as I have the ingredients."

Breda hesitated, probably wondering if he should risk asking the question again. He decided against it."Do you really think you can pull it off?" he asked instead.

"I have to." Mustang answered simply, turning away from him. "Lieutenant, hurry," he added turning back around.

Breda saluted smartly, and ran off towards the nearest butcher's shop to get the first ingredient on the list.

* * *

_The philosopher's stone… The homunculus Greed with the oroboros tattoo… _Ed thought absently, rereading all of his research. He was lounging on the couch in the hotel room he was sharing with Al.

Winry had been disappointed when they'd told her about the Hughes family moving to country, and she had shut herself in her room. _She's probably got her nose stuck in automail magazine, _he thought, slight smile on his face. He had also been put out to hear that Hughes was no longer in Central, but honestly, he was a little relieved as well. He knew that it was dangerous to be a soldier, doubly so if you were anything like Maes Hughes and helped out anyone you could. Ed smiled as he remembered all the nice things the lieutenant colonel had done for him and Al. Sure he could be annoying, but Hughes had a good heart. It was people like Maes Hughes that made his and Al's burden more bearable.

Slowly, his mind wandered away from Hughes and back to his research. _Homunculi… Human transmutation… How?_

Suddenly Al burst into the room and pulled Ed out of his thoughts. "Big brother!" he cried, running up to the couch.

Ed jumped up, looking around wildly. After a second, his mind caught up to him, and he realized it was only Al. "Geez Al, you scared the crap out of me," he said, slightly annoyed.

"Big brother…" Al said softer, it sounded almost like he was on the verge of tears. If he could cry, that was. No matter how much time he spent with Al, Ed would never get used to Al's small childish voice coming out of that huge hulking suit of armor. Once again he swore to himself to do whatever it took to get Al's body back.

"Big brother," Al repeated. "I saw this newspaper at the front desk…" he said, waving the paper around that was clutched tightly in his fist.

"What?" Ed asked, confused, taking the paper from Al. He flipped it open and scanned the front page for what was making his brother act so strangely. Immediately, his eye was drawn towards the picture of Lieutenant Hawkeye. Quickly, he read the head line. His eyes widened and a trail of sweat slid down his forehead as his mind tried to process the information. "What… the hell… is this?" Ed managed. He looked up at Al. Some part of his brain that wasn't desperately trying to figure out what was going on was surprised that somehow in the emotionless lines of Al's face he could tell that his brother was upset. It was just an observation, no feelings besides surprise came along with it. In fact, Ed couldn't really feel anything. It was like the emotional half of him had just been cut off. Slowly, he read the part of the article aloud. "First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has been convicted of the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes!"

Neither brother could speak, they were just frozen in shock. Finally, Ed dropped the paper on the table and woodenly started towards the door. "Come on, Al! We have to find out what's going on!" _He can't be dead! He can't be dead! He can't…_

"Brother, you don't think Lieutenant Hawkeye murdered Hughes, do you?" Al asked, not moving.

"No!" Ed said fiercly. "We know the lieutenant! She wouldn't do something like that! I don't even know if Hughes was killed!"

"B… but it's in the paper!"

"I know that! Come one, we have to get to the bottom of this!"

There was a squeak of a door opening in the hall."What's the matter?" Winry asked, coming into the room.

Ed took a few steps back. His heart sunk; he couldn't tell Winry, not now. He couldn't… he couldn't make her cry again. So, in a jerky motion, he brushed past pressing his hand on her shoulder for a second as he passed. "Sorry, I've got to see if it's true and then I'll explain," he said. "Let's go Al…"

"Okay…" Al replied, hesitantly following Ed out the door. He glanced back at Winry who was wearing a thoroughly confused expression.

Ed stared ahead, not risking even turning his head. He afraid that if looked back the truth would slip out… she didn't need to know yet…

"Hey! See if what's true? What happened?" Winry asked, yelling after the brothers. "Tell me what's going on!"

They both ignored her and ran towards the hotel's exit.

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**A/N There it is! Please leave me a review, they're greatly appreciated! Really, the reviews make my day! Again, it's fairly later at night than I'd like to be updating, so I didn't really read through all that carefully so sorry if I missed any grammar or spelling! **


	6. Shoot to Kill

**A/N I am sick today which is why I'm updating in the middle of the day. I'm not cutting school or anything... Anyway, here is chapter six, and it has Ling! I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time Ling has made an appearance. (I know it's really sad that I don't know that, but I'll blame it on the fact that my head's about to explode.) So, please don't be daunted by that huge first paragraph. It's honestly probably the largest one I've ever written. Nothing else to say except to thank everyone for reviewing and adding this story to alerts and favorites!**

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Hawkeye sat on the edge of the small bed in her prison cell. Absently, she fingered the unfamiliar clothes she had on. The cotton shirt was scratchy, but she hardly noticed; she was focused entirely on evaluating her options. At the moment, there wasn't much she could do. Having already tested the iron bars and found that they were sturdy, she was fairly certain there was no way of escape with what she had. Her next option was to somehow trick a guard into unlocking the cell, or somehow stealing their keys. In a prison with this level of security she decided it was unlikely that the guards just patrolling the hallways had the keys to her cell. It was a much more logical assumption that only higher ups, or possibly only Colonel Douglas himself held the keys, so stealing a set was out of the question. She also considered faking some kind of injury and forcing them to open the door to see what was wrong and give her treatment. If she could catch them by surprise by putting on a good enough show, Hawkeye was certain she could overpower whoever it was. Of course, then she would be faced with the dilemma of breaking out of a high security prison full of armed guards. Even with her stealth training and experience in covert operations, she doubted she could make it to the main gate without being apprehend. That plan was still in her arsenal if it came to that, but for the moment she hoped that the colonel would find way to get her out of here. She doubted it, though; someone had went to a great deal of trouble to frame her for this murder, she was sure that nothing Mustang tried would get her out. At least nothing legal. So, she was left with just hoping that the rest of the team could keep him from doing something stupid and rash.

_Well I can't just sit around! _Hawkeye thought, frustrated. She got up and started to pace the tiny room. In two strides she had reached the opposite wall. She stopped there, and rested her head against the wall. She couldn't even pace. With a small sigh, she turned around so her back was pressed against the wall and she slowly slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. She buried her face in her hands. She didn't know what she was going to do. It was not a feeling Riza Hawkeye was used to. _Well, if I can't escape, I can at least try to get a message to the colonel, telling him what's happened… _Now if only she could think of a way to do that…

There had to be a way. There was always a way to do something, it was just a matter of her thinking of it. They hadn't let her call anyone, so technically she was entitled to a phone call. If they let her take it, she couldn't call the colonel directly, but maybe she could call someone else. Maybe Madam Christmas. She would be discreet and she would get the message to the colonel, but Hawkeye didn't want to bring any unnecessary trouble down on the Madam. When running a hostess bar, one tends to try and stay out of the military polices' way. There was always a chance that they would try and trace the call. Not being a technician, Hawkeye wasn't certain if they could succeed or not, but she'd rather not risk it. Of course, all this consideration might just be a waste of time. They had searched her apartment illegally, manufactured evidence and somehow gotten false testimony, why should they break the pattern now and let her actually have a phone call?

Suddenly, the halls were ringing with a loud clanking sound. Quickly, Hawkeye stood up and pressed her face to the bars, trying to see what was going on. Unfortunately, her cell was right on a corner and she couldn't see at all into the next corridor, where the noise seemed to be coming from.

Hawkeye gave a slight gasp of surprise as a guard was thrown into her sight. He slid across the floor with a slight ooof. He then lie still, she couldn't tell if he was dead or just unconscious. It was clear something was happening. _Dammit! Please don't let the colonel have stormed the prison! _She prayed desperately. Despite what he thought of himself, the colonel was a good man. Hawkeye knew that he wouldn't just abandon her here. Whether or not that was a good thing though… But he wouldn't have been stupid enough to try and break her out himself, right?

The clanking was getting closer. It was right around the bend… any second now. Her knuckles went white, she was gripping the bars so hard. It was like time had slowed and everything was happening in slow motion. First his foot appeared, then his leg, his body and torso, and finally his head. Despite the sluggish pace at which it seemed to happen, her mind couldn't work until Barry the chopper was standing right in front of her cell. Of all the things she had expected to see, he wasn't very high on the list. She dropped the bars and stumbled backwards in surprise.

"Hello, Honey!" Barry said, in one of his more menacing voices. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"B-Barry! What're you doing here?" She asked, backing up a few more steps.

Instead of answering, he slashed the sword he was carrying down on the lock to her cell. It snapped off easily.

"Word on the street is that you murdered some guy named Hughes…" Barry said, opening the door and coming into the cell.

This time Hawkeye stood her ground. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at Barry. "I hope you didn't kill any guards," she stated, starting to catch on to what was going on.

"Awww, c'mon! I come here to save you and all ya do is scold me!"

"Did you?" Hawkeye asked, her glare deepening.

"Nah. I just knocked them out. It's no fun if ya don't chop 'em up."

Hawkeye gave a sigh of relief. If he hadn't killed anyone it was most likely because the colonel had sent him, and ordered him not to. She relaxed a bit, but still didn't let her guard down. Better safe than sorry. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"Why d'ya think, honey? I'm here to bust you out!"

"But…" what was the colonel planning?

"No buts! If ya don't come with me, they'll put you in front of the firing squad!"

"What?" Hawkeye asked.

"Have a look for yourself," Barry replied, reaching into the odd half-coat he always wore and pulled out a newspaper.

Hawkeye snatched it from him. She immediately saw her picture, and read the headline. She stared at the article, shocked. With a jolt of surprise, she realized that she wasn't shocked at all. Like deep down, she had known that this would happen. "I've been convicted?" she asked. There was no emotion in her voice, just weariness. She never should have gotten up today. Today. She couldn't believe that it hadn't even been a full day since everything bad thing possible started happening. It was like she was in a dream that she couldn't wake up from.

"Yep, toots. You can come with me and escape, or stay here to be executed."

Hawkeye quickly scanned the article. Although, it pronounced her guilty, it made no mention of what her punishment would be. Undoubtedly, Barry was right, though. She knew military law well enough. Killing a superior officer was treason, a crime punishable by death. The public would call for her execution, they would have nothing less. No one would have any trouble believing she'd done it. After all, twenty percent of all officer assassinations were committed by subordinates. "Alright, let's go."

"Uh, guys… Not to interrupt, but I think the backup's arriving!"

Hawkeye turned towards the voice. To her surprise she saw a young Xingese man. Based on his height, Hawkeye guessed he was a little older than Edward Elric. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. "Who are you?" she asked, suddenly not so sure that the colonel had orchestrated this whole thing.

"An illegal immigrant I picked up." Barry answered.

"I'm Ling Yao, nice to meet you," he said, smiling and inclining his head slightly. "Now, we really should be leaving."

Hawkeye shook her head. She turned back to Barry. Not certain that she was making the right decision, she said, "Alright, let's go."

The three of them started sprinting towards the doors of military police headquarters. Hawkeye and Ling ducked behind Barry's metal body when the soldiers who had been called in as backup started firing. Any of them who weren't incapacitated by the ricocheting bullets, Barry quickly knocked out with the hilt of his sword. Hawkeye spared a moment to pity them before running past. Barry also efficiently took care of any stray guards they came across. In almost no time, they had reached the doors, and burst into the night.

"Which way?" Hawkeye asked, when they were standing on the street.

"Follow me!" Barry yelled, and took off into the darkness.

For a moment, Hawkeye stood still, unsure of what to do. Well, she had trusted Barry this far. On the one hand, he might be here on Mustang's orders… on the other he just wanted to chop her up. She didn't have any guns on her, but she was fairly confident she could get away from him unscathed if she needed to. Deciding to hedge her bets, she ran after Barry.

Mustang sat at his desk, his head resting on his folded hands, he was staring at the phone. The not knowing was killing him. So far, he hadn't heard anything. He wasn't supposed to do anything until the escape was reported, but he was debating with himself about leaving for Second Street right then. And of course, another part of him wanted to go down to the prison to see what was taking so long. They should have been out by now, right? Any number of things could have gone wrong. He shuddered to think what would happen if the military caught Barry. Mustang knew Barry would give him up in a second to save his own skin. Maybe this wasn't the smartest plan in the world, but it was the lieutenant's only chance. Nothing in life is gained without risk. If he had to risk his career on getting her to safety, he would do it gladly.

Suddenly, the phone rang. The colonel jumped in his seat. Shakily, he reached out a hand to pick it up. "Colonel Mustang," he said.

"Sir?" came the squeaking response. Most likely some low-ranking officer from the communications department.

"Yes," Mustang said, drumming his fingers on the desk, impatiently.

"I'm Sergeant Weiss. I-I have orders for you. Well for the whole military actuall-"

"What are they?" Mustang asked.

"I'm supposed to inform you that First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has escaped from the detention center in the western sector. She was convicted of the murder of Brigadier General Maes Hughes. Her comrades are believed to be armed and dangerous."

"Oh?" Mustang asked coolly, but on the inside he gave a massive sigh of relief. They had made it. They were out. _Wait a second, comrades?_ He wondered, but before he could think about the matter anymore, the Sergeant started speaking again.

"All military personal are to be on the lookout for her. Your orders are to mobilize some or all of your subordinates to aid in the search. If the fugitives resist, shoot to kill."

Mustang felt his stomach drop at those words. _Shoot to kill. _He knew he should be happy with those orders, his entire plan depended on them, but still… _Shoot to kill._ "Alright. Thank you." He said to Sergeant Weiss.

"Yes, sir!" With a click, the call ended.

For a second, Mustang couldn't move. _Shoot to kill._ He shook his head to clear it. This was no time to become unfocused. He had to meet Barry and the Lieutenant. He shuddered as he thought of what would happen if other military personal caught them first. _That won't happen!_ He thought fiercely. "Lieutenant Breda," Mustang said.

Breda turned. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm going out for a few minutes. Take care of things while I'm gone." Mustang said, reaching into a drawer in his desk and grasping his ignition gloves.

"Yes, sir!" Breda said snapping a salute.

As the colonel left the room, Breda gave him a quick nod, as if to say 'good luck.' He then grabbed the phone and punched in a number. After a few rings, he said, "Hello, Jacqueline? Yeah, my boss just left. I think he's going to meet Elizabeth."

Mustang smiled, and snapped the door closed, cutting off the rest of the conversation.

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**A/N Please stay tuned for the next chapter! And please, please, please, I cannot stress this enough, please, review!  
**


	7. The Corpse

**A/N Okay, chapter seven! This is one of my favorite chapters, or at least in theory it is. I like the idea of it, not sure my writing did it justice though... oh well! What I really want is to hear what you think!**

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Barry led them down twists and turns, into an area of Central that Hawkeye wasn't familiar with. Despite this, she was fairly certain that they were heading towards the warehouse district. She was somewhat comforted by the fact that Barry at least seemed to have a clear idea of where they were headed. Still, she wasn't sure how much farther she could go. By her estimation they'd already run about four kilometers. And running was far from easy wearing the flimsy sandals that came with the prison uniform. She supposed that was by design. "How much farther?" she asked between pants.

"Just keep running!" Barry yelled. "Hurry!"

Right as they were rounding a corner, two figures appeared out of the darkness. All three of them skidded to a halt.

To her surprise, once the figures stepped into the light of a street lamp, Hawkeye saw that they were none other than the Elric brothers. _They're in Central?_ She wondered briefly.

The two brothers seemed just as surprised to have run into them. "Lieutenant Hawkeye!" they shouted at the same time. Based on the tone of their voices, she was certain that they knew what had happened. To some extent at least.

"Edward and Alphonse?" she asked.

"Hey, It's you!" Al and Barry said at the same time, pointing at each other.

Hawkeye remembered when she had first met Barry, he said that he knew Alphonse.

Ed seemed surprised. "What? You know him?" he asked his brother.

Al ignored him and moved on to Ling. "Ling too?"

Interesting, the Elric brothers also knew Ling…

"Who, me?" Ling asked innocently, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing!" Ling retorted. The two didn't seem to be on the best terms.

"Rrrgh! Don't get in my way!" Barry said, suddenly lunging towards Al. Apparently, he had enough of the conversation.

"Whoa," Al cried in surprise, but dodged the blow.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, what's going on? Did you kill Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" Ed asked, ducking under Barry's sword as he again swung at the brothers.

Hawkeye looked at them. So that was all they knew. She glanced around to make sure no one else was around. "I'm sorry, I don't have time!" They might run into military personal at any moment, she had to get out of this.

"Forget about them, lady!" Barry said. "Get to Second Street in the warehouse district. Take that back alley," he said, motioning with his head to the alley behind them. "You can escape under the cover of darkness."

Hawkeye hesitated, but she knew what she had to do. She turned to run. "Edward, I'm sorry, I'll explain later," she said. "Barry, don't you dare hurt these boys!" She gave Barry a death glare, before running into the alley.

"Aww, that's no fun!" Barry moaned behind her. A second later she heard the telltale sounds of a fight. She had to hope that Barry would just distract them, not actually hurt them. Of course, the Elric brothers could handle themselves, but she would never forgive herself if Barry hurt them.

"Lieutenant!" She heard Ed call after her, but she ignored it and kept running. Soon, the sounds of battle slipped away, and she was alone. Second Street. That was where Barry told her to go. But where was that? She had only been living in Central for a little more than a week and half! She didn't know where anything was yet. She quickly fought down the panic rising in her. It was a useful skill she had learned in Ishval. With her mind clear, she closed her eyes and tried to envision a map of Central. After a few seconds, she thought that she might have an idea on how to get the warehouse district. After that, she should be able to follow the street numbers to Second Street.

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Ten minutes later, Hawkeye had reached Second Street. It had taken a couple of double takes, and she'd had to retrace her steps twice, but she had finally reached it. She squinted down the street. There must have been a street lamp at the end of the street, because that side of the street was bathed in light. Since she had been running through alleys trying to avoid the main streets, her eyes weren't adjusted to the light. She squinted harder. She wasn't sure but she thought there was a figure across from her. Carefully, she put her back to the wall, trying to shrink against. If it was one of the military police, she was dead.

The figure took a step forward. Hawkeye couldn't see their face since their back was to the light, but at least now she could clearly see the outline of the person.

Her heart was pounding. She looked around. The only place to hide was behind a dumpster. Unfortunately, that was right where the person was standing. She could never make it without being seen. She remained still.

"Lieutenant?" The figure asked.

Hawkeye's body sagged against the wall with relief. It was the colonel. "Colonel," she answered. It was barely more than a whisper. For the first time since she had been arrested, she thought that everything might turn out alright.

"Lieutenant!" Mustang said, taking another step forward. He reached his arm out. It was clear that he couldn't really see Hawkeye, he was just following her voice.

With effort, she pushed herself off the wall and out into the open.

His eyes widened when he saw her if, as if he hadn't really expected her to be there. "Lieutenant!" He said again, pulling her into a tight hug.

Hawkeye was surprised, but she circled her arms around his back. It had only been hours since she'd seen him last, but it felt as though it had been years. It was good to know that he was safe. With a sigh, she rested her head against his chest.

His hand moved up to the back of her head. he weaved it through her hair that was falling down to her shoulders. They had confiscated her signature hair clip at the prison. "It's good to see you, Lieutenant."

They stood like that for a second. Too soon, Mustang pulled away. His hands grasped her shoulders and he looked her over. "You're okay, right?"

"Yes. I'm fine. What about you?" she asked, concern deep in her eyes.

Mustang laughed. "That's just like you, worrying about me."

Hawkeye smiled. "Just doing my job, sir."

The sound of voices and movement a ways off made them both turn. The voices were too far away to hear what they were saying, but only soldiers were supposed to be out.

"We don't have much time!" Mustang said. Turning away from the Lieutenant, he reached into the dumpster beside him. He pulled out something that looked like some sort of twisted human corpse and tossed it on the ground in front of her.

Hawkeye gave a small gasp of surprise. She looked up at the colonel.

"It's a dummy," he said refusing to meet her eyes.

Suddenly all the pieces fell into place in her mind. With a jolt, she realized exactly what the colonel was planning. She gulped, but nodded.

"Step back," he ordered, raising his hand.

She did what he said. The snap was nothing compared to the flume of flames that followed. Hawkeye put her hand in front of her face to shield it from the heat. Personally, she thought that he might've overdone it a bit. Half the city was likely to have seen the wall of fire. Of course, she supposed that was what he had been planning.

"Come, on." Mustang said, motioning for her to come over to the dumpster.

Quickly, Hawkeye realized what he meant. She hurriedly climbed into the dumpster, trying not to look at the charred corpse that was supposed to be her as she passed.

The colonel looked at her once again, his hand hovering on the lid. His eyes seemed to soften into a pool of concern. He hesitated for a moment, but then he reached his free hand out and gently brushed the side of her cheek, "Be safe, Lieutenant."

"I'll be fine, sir," she said confidently, and reached her hand up to her face and placed it comfortingly on his.

He gave her a small smile. It barely touched the corners of his lips, but Hawkeye appreciated it all the same. With a flick of his wrist, he gently closed the dumpster.

For a second, she surrounded by darkness, but soon an opening of light appeared behind her. She turned and saw Lieutenant Havoc, grinning at her, cigarette hanging out of the edge of mouth.

"Nice to see you, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Likewise, Havoc," she said, smiling.

"Now, come on!" he said, grabbing her wrist.

"Wait! My prison identification bracelets!" She pointed at the two dangling chains on her wrist.

"Right! Can't forget those." Quickly, Havoc took a pair of chain cutters out of his pocket and snapped them off. "Colonel!" he said, opening the dumpster with one hand and reaching the bracelets out to the colonel with the other. As soon as Mustang had taken them, he shut the dumpster again. "Okay, now we can really go."

Hawkeye smiled, and followed him out of the small hole in the back of the dumpster. When they reached the other side, she stood up and brushed herself. She saw that they were in the empty warehouse that made up one side on the street. She knelt down, and took a moment to examine the hole. It went through solid brick as well the metal of the dumpster.

"We have to cover it," Havoc stated, pointing to a pile of garbage next to them.

Hawkeye and Havoc began shoving the bags through the hole and into the dumpster until the hole was completely covered.

"Let's get out of here," Havoc said, trying to brush some trash debris off his pants. "Wait, I think I hear voices!"

Hurriedly, he and Hawkeye pressed their ears to the brick wall trying to hear better.

"Dammit! The military's already there. We really have to leave, now! Wait, is that Fullmetal?" Havoc asked.

"Barry and I ran into him and Alphonse on our way here. Barry tried to distract them. I guess they got past!" Hawkeye said, pushing farther into the wall, trying to catch more of what was being said.

"Well let's go before anyone else shows up!"

"Agreed."

* * *

Ed wasn't sure what he saw. That is until he saw the colonel standing over the charred corpse. He skidded to a halt. For a second he didn't know what had happened. All he could process was the horrible putrid smell hanging in the air. It reminded him of when he and Al were kids and their mother had once overcooked some chicken. The same smell had hung in their kitchen for hours afterward. He coughed into his arm. Only then did the smoke clear and he was able to see the body. If it could even be called that. It was more of a charcoal briquette. It was impossible to imagine that it had once been a human. Then his eyes had slowly moved up until he saw the colonel standing there. His eyes widened as he realized what must have happened.

Mustang turned and saw him. "Well, hello, Fullmetal." There was a strange sort of deadness in the colonel's eyes.

Ed covered his mouth and nose with his automail hand to block out the smell. "H-how could you do this?" he yelled. "Explain yourself!"

The colonel kept infuriatingly calm.

Ed clenched his fist tightly. "When… why was Lieutenant Colonel Hughes killed?" he asked in a softer voice. "And why did First Lieutenant Hawkeye have to…" the sprawled out arm of the corpse caught his eye. He could see each individual finger. It looked so human, and at the same so far from it. Ed felt vomit burning his throat. He swallowed it back down. "How could you?" he asked anger again rising in him. "She was your subordinate! How could you do… that?"

Mustang still refused to answer or even acknowledge his questions.

Ed started towards him angrily, but a small gasp from behind stopped him. He turned and saw Al standing a few feet behind him.

"W-what happened?" Al asked, sounding terrified, his eyes glued to the Lieutenant's corpse.

"Ask that bastard!" Ed said, turning away, not able to bear the tone of his brother's voice.

"Colonel Mustang, what's the meaning of this? Is that… is that Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Al asked hesitantly, seeming almost unable to put a name to the corpse.

Mustang looked at the corpse at his feet without much interest. "Yes."

How could he be so nonchalant about the woman he just killed? Someone he had known for years? Ed started running at him in anger, but Al held him back. "No, brother! You can't!"

"Like hell I can't!" Ed shouted trying desperately to get at Mustang. "How could you kill her?"

"Riza Hawkeye was convicted of murdering Hughes. When she escaped from prison the orders were shoot to kill. There's nothing more to say."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Ed shouted.

Al kept a firm grip on his brother, but Ed was no longer trying to get at Mustang. Now, he was staring at the corpse like he couldn't look away.

Soon more military personal arrived on the scene. They covered the body up and moved it away. Ed supposed they were taking it to the morgue, but he really didn't want to think about it. He and Al were sitting with their backs to a wall, watching all of the proceedings. Ed still couldn't wrap his mind around it… Mustang had killed Lieutenant Hawkeye.

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**A/N There's chapter seven! Please take the time to review! Don't be a lazy butt! Equivalent exchange people! :)**

**p.s. as always a million thanks to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story, it really means a lot to me! You guys are why I'm doing this!  
**

**p.p.s. Next chapter is when it really starts to get away from the story!  
**


	8. Xing

**A/N Yaaay! Next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And just so everyone knows, this is really when the story starts taking off!**

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Mustang explained what happened to a member of the military police.

The man nodded and made a few notes on a piece of paper, and left.

Not sure what to do next, Mustang stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around. So far everyone seemed to be buying it. Especially Fullmetal. He hadn't expected the kid to show up here, but he had dealt with it. It made him sick to stomach seeing how everyone believed that he'd killed Hawkeye. Well he was 'the Hero of Ishval.' He was known for torching whole towns. It wasn't shouldn't be surprising that they thought he was capable of something so horrible. Another officer approached him, and Mustang turned and saw that it was Colonel Douglas, the man who had arrested Hawkeye. Even though Mustang knew that he had only been following orders, he felt a surge of hatred towards the man.

"Please explain you actions, Colonel Mustang." Douglas asked.

"My orders were to kill if she resisted," Mustang said, turning his head away from the man. "She resisted."

The man looked at him suspiciously. "This morning you seemed convinced of her innocence, and seven hours later you kill her? Can you see why that's a little hard for me to believe?"

This was the part that Mustang was dreading; when he really had to convince people that he killed the lieutenant. "I _did_ think she was innocent. Then I read the evening paper. The evidence brought up against her was quite irrefutable. Not only did she betray my trust, but I actually defended her! I was good friends with Maes Hughes. She murdered him. He left behind a widow a three year old girl. She'll never know her father, and it's all the fault of the lieutenant that I trusted for years. You can see why I jumped at the opportunity to bring Hughes killer to justice. It was her own fault that I was forced to go this far," he said, gesturing to the scorch marks in the street that perfectly outlined the body.

Douglas seemed to consider his words. "I can understand your lust for revenge, but you overdid it! Thanks to you we can't even confirm the identity of the body!"

Mustang shrugged, like it wasn't his problem.

That apparently wasn't the reaction Douglas wanted, because he made an annoyed sort of growl and stalked away.

* * *

"Yeah, this is Jacqueline. I just wanted to tell you that I picked up Elizabeth, so Roy doesn't have to worry about her getting home."

Breda gave a sigh of relief. The lieutenant was safe. They had succeeded. "Thanks, Jacqueline. I'll be sure to pass that on to the colonel. You got her home safe, right? There's been some trouble in the city."

"Yeah I noticed the roads were strangely empty. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Just an escaped prisoner. It's all taken care of now." Breda told Havoc, cryptically letting him know that the military had bought the colonel's plan.

"Well, that's a relief. I got to go."

"Bye." Breda hung up the phone. He turned as the door opened. "Fuery, Elizabeth's safe."

"Really? That's great!" The Master Sergeant said, coming into the room.

"Where were you anyway?" Breda asked.

"Oh, I stopped by the lieutenant's house. I remembered that no one was taking care of Black Hayate," he answered, gesturing to the small dog trotting around his ankles.

Breda immediately jumped up onto his desk. "You really got to bring that little devil in here, Fuery?" he asked.

"The lieutenant would kill us if we let her dog starve."

Well, Breda couldn't argue with that. "Fine. But keep him over there."

Fuery rolled his eyes, but moved to the other side of the room.

The door to the office opened again, and this time the colonel walked in.

Both Breda and Fuery gave him quick salutes. "Sir!"

Mustang ignored them and sat wearily down in his chair.

"If I may ask, how did your business go, sir?" Breda asked.

"Fine. I did what I set out to do." Mustang said.

"Jacqueline called. She wanted me to tell you that she brought Elizabeth home safe and sound."

Mustang looked up. "That's good…"

"Sir! I have something over here!" Fuery called to them. He was sitting at his desk, surrounded by pieces of electronics. The one in front of him was a make-shift telephone. He had hooked it up earlier that day in case any of the team needed to get in touch without using codes. Since he had set it up personally, they could be sure that it wasn't tapped. "It's Barry."

Mustang hurried over. "We haven't heard from Barry yet at all," he said.

"He says…" Fuery started, but stopped to listen again. After a couple of seconds he continued to speak, but his voice had dropped a few levels so it was barely above a whisper. "He says that he freed an illegal Xingese immigrant from the prison, and in exchange for Barry's help, the immigrant promised to send one of his servants to escort Hawkeye to Xing!"

"Can we trust him?" Mustang asked. If they could that was great news. They wouldn't have to try and hide Hawkeye in the city; they could get her to Xing where she would be safe.

"I… I think so. He says he friends with the Elric brothers."

"Okay, where are they now?" Mustang asked.

"They're on the edge of the city, they had to run from the police, but they're headed towards the slum where Lieu- er Elizabeth is."

"Alright, I'll meet them there," Mustang said, pulling on the coat he had just taken off.

"Uh… sir, are you sure you don't want me to do it?" Breda asked. "I'm less… noticeable if you know what I mean."

Mustang smiled. "Don't worry Lieutenant, I'll be discreet."

Breda nodded, and Mustang left the office

* * *

Mustang hurried towards the building where the Lieutenant Hawkeye and Lieutenant Havoc were hiding. He knew that the wise decision would be to let Breda go to meet them, but he couldn't let Lieutenant Hawkeye leave the country without saying good-bye. He owed her that much. All of this was his fault. He knew it. Whoever had framed her had only done so to get at him.

Even though he knew that the best possible thing for the lieutenant was to leave the country, he still hated that it had come to this. She had been watching his back for so long… He honestly wasn't sure he was capable of functioning without her. _Well you're going to have to learn,_ he thought to himself. He was going to miss her. He knew that there was a good chance that he might die in whatever was coming, so this could quite possibly be the last time he ever saw her. At least he would know she was safe.

When Mustang looked up, he realized that he had reached his destination. He slowly climbed the stairs to the apartment they were hiding in. He rapped on the door.

"Who is it?" A voice asked.

"Roy," he answered.

The door opened a crack, and Mustang recognized Havoc from his one visible eye and the smell of smoke that clung to him like a wet jacket.

Once Havoc saw that it was indeed the colonel he opened the door entirely and let him in. "Sir! What're you doing here?"

Mustang didn't answer, just scanned the apartment for his Lieutenant. "Where is she?" he asked.

Havoc gestured towards a back room. "She's sleeping. Once the adrenaline wore off she was almost collapsing. Of course, she tried to stay up, but I told her she better get some rest. We're not sure what to next. She may have to run at any time."

Mustang nodded. He walked quietly towards the bedroom. He had to see with his own eyes that she was safe. Only then would he believe it. The door to the room was ajar, so he just had to push on it to open it. He peered into the room. There she was, curled up on the bed. She looked peaceful, but there was still a slight scowl on her face. Like she wasn't satisfied to be asleep. Mustang smiled and chuckled softly to himself. That was his lieutenant. He closed the door, and turned to face Havoc. "It's good she's getting some rest. In couple of hours she _is_ going to have to start running again."

"What?" Havoc asked. "Why? Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing like that. Barry found someone who has agreed to take her to Xing."

Havoc sighed and sat down in a chair. "Well that's good; she'll be safe."

"Yeah," Mustang agreed, sitting down in the other chair.

"On the other hand, we'll never finish our paperwork again," Havoc said, slight smile on his face.

Mustang chuckled. "It's a good trade. The lieutenant's safety for no pressure to finish all my paperwork. I'd take it any day."

Havoc smiled, but looked down, and Mustang understood. Even the half-smile he was wearing on his face right then was forced. They both knew how hard it would be to adjust to the lieutenant's absence.

Suddenly a banging on the door interrupted their conversation. Mustang brought his hand up, ready to snap. Havoc grabbed his gun. Holding it straight up, his hand on the trigger, Havoc walked to the door. "Who is it?" he called.

"It's me, Barry! An' I brought some company."

Mustang winced at the loudness of Barry's voice, and glanced at the door to the room where Hawkeye was sleeping as Havoc opened the door, gun still at the ready.

Barry burst into the room. Three other people trailed in after him. All of them looked Xingese. Two were teenagers, and one was an old man.

Mustang stood up. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang," he said, holding his hand out to the boy in front.

The boy didn't take his hand, instead he brought his hands together not unlike the clapping alchemy pose and bowed to Mustang. "I'm Ling Yao, and these are my guards, Fu and Lan Fan."

Mustang nodded to both of them.

"Since I busted him outta jail, he's sending Fu to escort your girlie to Xing," Barry said.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Mustang said, addressing the old man.

The man bowed to him. "No, sir. We are in your debt. Your man saved the young lord."

"I'm not anyone's man-" Barry started but was cut off.

"What?" a voice from behind asked.

Mustang turned. He saw Hawkeye standing in the doorway to the bedroom. She was staring at the new comers with a stricken expression on her face. "We found an escort to get you out of Amestris," Mustang said.

"What?" Hawkeye almost yelled. "If you think I'm just going to run-"

Mustang growled. Now was not the time for her to be stupidly heroic and brave! "It's the only place you'll place you'll be safe," he said, trying to reason with her.

"I don't care. I'm not abandoning you," she stated, crossing her arms across her chest.

Why was she so stubborn? "Lieutenant, you're going to Xing. And that's an order!"

Hawkeye snorted. "Well, sir, after today I'm fairly sure that I'm no longer in the military."

Havoc snickered behind his hand and Mustang sent him a quick death glare that shut him up quite efficiently. "Lieutenant you have to go! You're not safe here."

"I already said I don't care."

Mustang ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't force her to go to Xing if she flat out refused. "Please, lieutenant!" he begged. He couldn't lose her.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I promised to always watch your back, and I can't do that from Xing."

_You can't watch my back if you're dead either!_ He thought angrily. But instead, he just said, "Fine."

Hawkeye nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Mustang didn't answer, just turned away from her and kicked a chair. What the hell was he going to do now?

* * *

**A/N Did you like it? I spent a lot of time thinking about how Hawkeye would react, but I ultimately decided that she wouldn't leave Mustang's side.**

**Please please please please review! They really make my day, you guys have been super super nice! **


	9. Discoveries

**A/N Sorry it's taken me so long to post, I've been super busy with school work! Anyway, here is the next chapter! Please enjoy! Sorry, no royai... :(  
**

* * *

"And everyone lived happily ever after!" Envy said, arms spread wide. "So in the end, Mr. Mustang avenged his friend's death! And, you over estimated him, Pride! He took the bait just as I predicted he would."

"So it would seem," The small homunculus said thoughtfully.

"You're taking this far too lightly," Lust said to Envy, annoyed. "Not only did the woman escape, but our target finished her off himself! That wasn't the plan."

"I actually enjoy the irony of the dog eating the bait," Envy stated, shrugging.

"Yes, it is ironic," Pride muttered, still thinking. "But something doesn't add up."

"What?" Envy asked. "You think he faked his lieutenant's death? The doctor confirmed that it was her body."

"Really?" Lust asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was burned beyond recognition."

"Oh it was. The Flame Colonel really out did himself. They confirmed her identity with dental records."

"I guess I did misjudge him. No matter. It's of little consequence; he's no threat to our plans." Pride said.

"Someone's losing their touch, Pride! My original plan would have worked just as well as yours, and would've been a whole lot easier to pull off!" Envy laughed.

Suddenly, one of Pride's shadow appendages shot up and stabbed Envy through the chest.

"Hey!" Envy yelled in surprise, a little blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth.

Pride smiled and withdrew it.

"Temper, temper!" Envy said in a mocking, chastising voice, as a flashing light sparkled up the gash, healing it. He wiped the blood falling from his mouth off his face with the back of his hand. "We'll have to start calling you Wrath if you're not careful."

"Do not insult me."

"Boys, boys," Lust interjected, pouting. "You know Father doesn't like it when we bicker."

The two homunculi glared at each other for a second, but listened to Lust.

"Oh, there's one more thing," Envy said.

"What?" Lust asked.

"Our little trap attracted an unexpected guest," Envy said, handing her a folded piece of paper. "Guess who's behind the attack on the penitentiary?" he asked as Lust unfolded the paper.

"Oh, my. Looks like out old friends number 66 is back," she said for Pride's benefit, after seeing the drawing sketched on the sheet of paper. "I thought he died when laboratory number five collapsed."

"Do you think he's in contact with the good colonel?" Envy asked.

"Well, it would explain why he was researching executed criminals yesterday," Lust replied.

"Are you sure he was the one behind the escape?" Pride asked, grabbing the sketch.

"Yep, it was him."

"Then, there's a good chance that Colonel Mustang orchestrated the whole escape. But why?"

"Well it's understandable that he would want to finish her off himself. After all, he thought she murdered his best friend." Envy suggested.

"No, that's not enough. Mustang may be arrogant and sure of himself, but he's not a fool. He wouldn't his risk his career on something as trivial as revenge," Pride countered.

Envy waved his hand. "You're over estimating him again! He may be a powerful alchemist, but he's just a puny human. You have to think like one of them. Revenge could easily drive him to such extremes!"

"Maybe you're right. What do you think, Lust?" Pride asked.

Lust was leaning against Gluttony's back, examining her nails. She seemed to be ignoring their conversation, but she answered Pride quickly enough. "We're not even sure that the colonel is in contact with Barry. Let's not get ahead of ourselves by assigning him motives."

Pride tutted. "Now Lust, that's how we lose the upper hand. We have to keep one step ahead of this colonel. He's smart."

"Then I agree with Envy. Revenge is a strong motive, especially in the minds of humans."

Pride nodded. "I'm still surprised that he fell for it. Oh well. We have more important matters to attend to."

"Like the Barry the chopper," Envy said.

"Do you know where he fled to?" Lust asked Envy.

"Not really. He's really quick and good at hiding just like when he was still alive."

"In other words you don't have a clue. You're useless." Lust said, walking across the room.

"Shut up, you old maid!" Envy said, annoyed.

"Lust, I trust you have something in mind to remedy the situation?" Pride asked, turning to his 'sister.'

"Yes. I believe we have an old friend of Barry's who's just dying to see him again!" With that, she threw open the large metal doors at the end of the room revealing the cage that held Barry's stinking, rotting body.

Envy smiled. "That'll do the trick."

Pride looked at the two of them. "We should wait to clear up the Barry the Chopper incident. If he is indeed in league with Mustang, there's no telling what could happen."

Lust pouted. "We still don't have any hard evidence that they've even in contact."

"And we can't just let Barry run freely through the streets. If he's in contact with Mustang, all the more reason to get rid of him. Number 66 would spill our plans in a second!"

Pride considered this. "True, but maybe we should try a more subtle plan. It would be a shame to kill such a prime candidate for human sacrifice."

Envy shrugged. "They're always more candidates."

"Not with the way Scar's been killing them off," Pride pointed out.

"We still have the Fullmetal pipsqueak," Envy said. "And his teacher… Izumi Curtiss."

"And Hohenheim, of course. All of them have already opened the portal, so we know for sure that they can be used as sacrifices." Pride continued.

"There's that Armor boy. He's a candidate." Lust said.

"Yes, and Mustang. That's it for now. Almost all the other alchemists who were skilled enough to open the portal have been murdered by Scar."

"What about Kimblee?" Envy asked.

"He's a possibility, but I think his talents would be put to better use elsewhere." Pride stated. "Besides, I don't we could get him to open a portal."

"You could force him," Envy pointed out.

"I'd rather not."

"What about that muscleman, Armstrong?" Lust asked.

"I have my doubts that he would return alive; he may have strong body, but on the inside he's weak. Look at what happened in Ishval."

"So, we shouldn't kill Mustang," Lust summed up.

"If he gets too close, we may have to." Pride said. "But, yes for now, try to avoid it."

"Then what about Barry the chopper?" Envy asked.

"We'll have to consider it. If he is in contact with Mustang a few more days couldn't make matters any worse."

Envy and Lust grudgingly agreed.

"I have to return to the mansion or Mrs. Bradley will become suspicious," Pride said.

"Running home to your mommy," Envy muttered.

Pride turned angrily, but didn't say anything. Truthfully, he was fairly fond of the woman. She was one of the more tolerable humans he had ever encountered. Contrary to most of the other homunculi's beliefs, he rather enjoyed pretending to be Selim Bradley. Not that he would ever tell them that. "Don't do anything without consulting me or Wrath." With that, he stalked out of the room.

* * *

Pride navigated the winding halls of the Bradley Estate, not really paying attention to where he was heading. There was still something bothering him about this affair with the Flame Colonel. There was something he was missing, if he could just grasp it…

_Riza Hawkeye_… there was something about her. The missing piece was so clearly in that name, that it was almost tangible. That name… it was familiar. Where had he- suddenly, Pride's face went white as the last piece fell into place. How could they have missed that? How could_ he_ have missed that? He needed her file to confirm it. Where was Wrath? _No time._

Taking a deep breath, Pride turned and ran back the way he had come. His tiny arms pushed open the elaborate doors that led to the foyer. Once he was inside the vast room, he went straight up to one of the guards stationed by the grand staircase. "Excuse me," he said, tugging on the soldier's sleeve. When the man looked down, Pride put on what he thought of as his 'Selim face.' "My daddy asked me to tell you that he needs a file from Central Command," he said, smiling. "He said it was Riza… Riza…"

"Hawkeye?" the guard asked. Of course he had heard of her. After her daring escape, Pride would be surprised if there was a single soldier in all of Central who didn't know her name.

"Yeah her! He needs her file! He said it was important and he needs it immediately." Pride said, smiling brightly. Now, he just had to hope that Wrath was somewhere in the mansion and not still at the office. Fortunately, luck seemed to be on his side.

"Yes, right away!" The man said, hurrying out of the house.

Pride smiled now he just had to wait.

* * *

Barely half an hour later, the man returned, clutching a thick file to his chest. He seemed surprised to see Pride still standing there. "I got the folder…" he started, letting the sentence trail off.

Pride grinned up at the man. "Can I take it to him?"

The guard looked down at him, and small smile found its way to his lips, just as Pride predicted. To this guard, Pride was just a young boy who wanted to help his father with his work. "Of course. Just be careful, those are official documents."

Pride nodded and took the folder from the man. Then he positively skipped up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, he snorted; he may not mind it from Mrs. Bradley, but when other humans talked to him like a child, he was always tempted to run them through with a shadow arm. Well despite that ignorant ape, he had the information he needed. Flipping the folder open, he quickly scanned the first few lines. He saw that he had been right.

_Name: Riza Hawkeye_

_Rank: First Lieutenant_

_Status: Deceased_

_Family: _

_mother: Elizabeth Hawkeye, deceased. _

_father: Berthold Hawkeye, deceased. _

Berthold Hawkeye. That was a name Pride knew. Despite the fact that he wasn't a state alchemist, Berthold Hawkeye had been on the homunculi's radar as a powerful alchemist. He was known for his research into flame alchemy. Unfortunately he'd died, but not before passing his research on to his apprentice, Roy Mustang.

There was the missing link. If this information was true, it would mean that Lieutenant Hawkeye had all but grown up with Colonel Mustang. She had been his ally much longer than they'd previously believed. Pride was sure now. The colonel had not killed his lieutenant.

* * *

**A/N So the plot thickens! Tune it next time to see what will happen to our favorite Colonel and his trusty lieutenant!**

**Oh, by the way, thanks to all the reviewers, and please please please keep them coming! (They power my fingers!  
**


	10. Nightmares

**A/N I'm posting this early because all weekend I'll be in North Carolina with, dun dun dun no internet! I except to die from boredom, but I'll probably get some writing done which is good because now I officially caught up to myself in posting these chapters. (I've just had no time to write recently) please keep those amazing reviews coming. Nothing makes me happier than reading them! By the way this chapter is kinda fluffy but I like it.  
**

* * *

Mustang unlocked his apartment door. "After you, Lieutenant," he said, motioning for her to enter.

Hawkeye looked at him apprehensively. "Sir, I'm not comfortable with this. If it's discovered that you're harboring a fugitive, your career will be over."

Mustang sighed. She was still thinking of him. She was going to get herself killed if she continued to so blatantly disregard her own safety. "If anyone finds out you're still alive, my career will be over. This could hardly make matters worse."

She crossed her arms, and still refused to enter. "It could. If someone suspects that you didn't really kill me, this will be the first place they'll look. It would be better if I stayed with Breda or Havoc. Or I could stay in an apartment in the slums like Falman and Barry."

Mustang looked at her. "Breda and Havoc are in the military quarters. So is Fuery. They could never hide you." She _knew_ all this. "Your picture will be in the paper for weeks. You can't just rent an apartment. Everyone would recognize you." Why did she insist on going through this? He knew why.

"I would be careful." Hawkeye said, refusing to meet his eyes. He could tell that she was still uncomfortable putting him at risk.

Why was she so difficult? "It's only for a few days. Then we can get you somewhere safer." _Like Xing._

Seeming to read his thoughts, the lieutenant said, "I'm not leaving Central."

"I know."

She nodded and finally entered his apartment.

Mustang let a light smile touch his lips, but with the weight of the current situation, too soon, it slipped back under his weary mask.

The both stood in his small living room for a second, neither knowing what to do. Finally, he said, "You can have the bed, Lieutenant. I'll sleep on the couch."

A slight blush came to her cheeks, making him smile again. "That's quite alright, sir. I'll take the couch."

Knowing that there was no way he could change her mind, he sighed, but acquiesced. "Fine. I'll get you some sheets and a blanket."

She bobbed her head. "Thank you."

"It's nothing."

"No, sir. I mean _thank _you. For everything. For getting me out of there." A slight shiver ran down her spine. She tried to hide it, but Mustang saw.

He started towards her then. Raising his hand, he gently touched the side of her head. Had she really thought that he would leave there? That he could? Didn't she know that he- Didn't she know how much she meant to him? "Lieutenant. You're okay, right? Nothing happened that I should know about?"

She looked at him, surprised. "No. It was nothing like that. It's just that the Lieutenant Colonel was my friend." She grimaced. "It's… painful that everyone thinks I killed him."

Mustang mentally slapped himself. He realized that she was much more bothered by the entire situation than she had let on. This entire time, he had just been focused on her physical well-being. It had never even crossed his mind how much it would hurt to be accused of something like this. He honestly didn't know if he could've dealt with it. She was just so strong, it was easy to forget that she was just a person. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

"Sir," she started, her voice shaking. She lifted her head up to look at his face. She bit her bottom lip, and steadied her voice. "D-does Gracia know? Does she think that I killed her husband?"

Again Mustang mentally slapped himself. He had entirely forgotten about Gracia as well. But, could anyone blame him? "No, not yet."

"Are you going to tell her the truth?" Hawkeye asked, her voice impossible to read.

He sighed. "I don't know. I owe her the truth, but I don't want to risk your safety."

Hawkeye looked away.

"We can tell her if you want," he said quickly.

"No. We can't." She said the words in a calm voice, but her face contorted, like she had just swallowed something with a bitter taste. Like she wished she could just spit out the whole day. Mustang didn't blame her.

"It's not that I don't trust Gracia, but if whoever's behind this suspected she might know something, it would put her in danger." He smiled. "Maes would never forgive me."

"It's alright, sir. You don't need to explain. I know." She said softly.

He held her tighter. She breathed heavily onto his coat. But didn't sob. In a second, when they broke apart, he saw that her face was completely dry. It saddened him. What had happened to harden that little girl he had once known to the point where her life going entirely to hell wasn't enough to make her cry? Unfortunately, he knew all too well what had happened, and it had been his fault. Suddenly, he was amazed that despite everything that had happened, she still stuck with him.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Mustang started, realizing he had been staring at her. "I'm fine. I'll go get the things for your bed."

A few minutes later, he came back but his lieutenant was no longer standing there. A tendril of fear momentarily gripped his heart, but before it time to lodge there fully, he heard her in the kitchen.

She turned around as he came in. "Oh! I hope you don't mind. I just came in here to get some tea…"

"It's fine," he said, sitting down at the counter across from her.

"Would you care for a cup, sir?" she asked, smiling, clearly glad to be doing something.

"Yes, please."

She hummed to herself absently as she made the tea. He watched her, hiding a smile behind his hand. He was struck with the thought of how nice this was. He allowed himself a brief moment to wonder if this was how it could be like if their lives had gone differently. In a different reality, maybe he and the Lieutenant shared fleeting moments like this all the time. The thought widened his smile, but it was tinged with a bitter sweetness.

"Here you go," she said, pulling him out of his musings. She plopped a steaming mug in front of him, and when he looked up, she was smiling.

"Thanks." He took a sip.

They sat there for a few minutes, slipping into a comfortable silence, both drinking tea. Mustang had to admit that it felt good not to be harried and worry-stricken for a moment. There was no hurry. No darkness hanging over them. All too soon, the spell was broken.

Hawkeye yawned.

"Here, you must be tired. I guess you should get to sleep."

"I'm fine!" she insisted, but Mustang saw that she was about to collapse. It seemed that she was reluctant to end the moment as well.

"Don't be stupid. There's no reason to run yourself into the ground."

"What time is it?" she asked, suppressing another yawn.

He flicked open his silver watch. "Past midnight."

"We should get some sleep," she admitted grudgingly. "You have to go to work in the morning."

Mustang groaned. "Damn."

She smiled. She reached across her table and grasped his empty mug. In an efficient movement, she slid it into her waiting hand. She then took both their cups and placed them in the sink.

Mustang got up and waited for her to exit the kitchen before him. "Goodnight Lieutenant," he called, going into his bedroom.

"Goodnight, Colonel," she answered, spreading the sheets over the couch.

Mustang tossed and turned, but sleep just refused to find him. It wasn't all that surprising. Even before the crazy events of the day, he hadn't been sleeping well. This time however, every time he started to drift off, he was plagued not with images of Maes, but rather, of her. They were horrible. His imagination spiraled through different scenarios that easily could have happened. He watched her die at least twenty times.

In one, he couldn't get her out. She was executed. Her back was straight, hands tied behind her behind her, chin jutted high. Long blonde ran free down her shoulders. Strands of it blew back in a gentle breeze. A blindfold was secured around her eyes, but her shoulders were squared and she faced the men in front of her with pride. Suddenly, deafening shots rang through the air, disturbing the eerie silence.

Her knees wobbled as big blotches of red appeared on her shirt. She didn't cry out or say anything, but she refused to fall. Seconds passed. The men of the firing squad looked to one another, confused. She still remained stubbornly upright. Her knees were shaking violently, but still she held her position.

Finally, she fell. She hit the ground with a weak thump. A puddle of blood, the color of melted rose petals, flowed around her creating a small pool. The white blindfold soaked up some of it, and soon it too was a sickly rose color. The weight of the blood pulled the blindfold down a bit, enough to expose one eye. The brown orb stared straight ahead. It was cold and empty. Dead.

Mustang sat up. That one had been too real for his liking. Suddenly, he had an urge to check on her. To insure himself that it had been his imagination. That she was still safely asleep on his couch.

Carefully, he placed his feet on the ground and tiptoed to the door. The next room was dark, so he hovered in the doorway, waiting for his eyes to adjust. When he could see at least a lingering outline of shapes in front of him, he made his way to the couch.

Her blond hair seemed to shine in the darkness. It surrounded her head like an unnerving wreath. Her form was crumpled in on itself, as if to protect her from unseen dangers. Unseen. How close was that to the truth?

Mustang sighed and sat down in a chair. He had barely had any time to consider the next step of this equation, who was behind it? Who had orchestrated the entire thing? Someone with power and high up military connections, that much was clear. Unfortunately, there were too many people in Amestris who met those standards.

_They had to have some reason for covering up Maes' murder…_ He thought. This definitely could be the work of the real murderer, but as his team had pointed out, if that was the only goal the person wanted to reach, there were many suspects far more likely than his lieutenant. So they had been trying to send him a message, then… A message saying what? To stop digging? He tiredly ran his hands through his hair. Maybe they had been killing two birds with one stone: covering up the murder, and rattling him. It made sense.

_Well, _he decided grimly, his eyes hardening. _If I wasn't going after them before, I sure as hell am now. _His hands clenched as a possibility occurred to him. _But what if my continued digging puts Lieutenant Hawkeye in even more danger? _He thought worriedly. _Hopefully her faked death will protect her. At the very least, it should buy us some time. _Mustang carelessly picked at the arm of his chair. There had to be a way out of this! _The only way to make sure that she stays safe, is to figure out who's behind this and take them down._ Of course, even though the lieutenant was relatively safe for the moment, the same couldn't be said for the rest of his team. Any one of them could be next. He couldn't order them into a battle like this. Without a clear goal in mind, fighting an invisible unimaginably powerful enemy, with only themselves, no one else. No. All of them would have to make the decision for themselves.

Mustang turned as Hawkeye stirred in her sleep. He held his breath, trying not to disturb her.

She rolled over and puffed a small sleep noise from the back of her throat, but did nothing else.

He smiled. He carefully brushed a few of the golden strands out of her face. Standing up, he leaned over her sleeping body, and a planted a small kiss on the top of her forehead. He was gratified when a small smile brushed the edges of her lips. Chuckling quietly to himself, he slipped back into his bedroom, a light feeling telling him that now he would be able to get to sleep.

* * *

**A/N Did you like it? Please tell me your innermost thoughts! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, you guys are the best and I promise I'll update as soon as I finish writing the next chapter!**


	11. Realizations

**A/N Chapter 11! Nothing really to say here, but if you live in America, and are 18, don't forget to vote tomorrow! :) Thanks to all the support this story has gotten, and please enjoy this chapter!**

**Wow, as I reread that it sounds like this is the last chapter! Don't worry, many more to come!  
**

* * *

Ed opened the door to their room. His feet were dragging. The only thing he wanted to do was fall down in his bed and sleep for weeks. (Well, and beat Colonel Bastard to a pulp, but that went without saying.) He ran his hand around the back of the couch and was about to collapse onto it, but suddenly he stopped as he saw that Winry was huddled on it. "Winry?" he asked, wondering for a brief moment why she was in his and Al's room instead of her own. Then he saw the newspaper clutched in her hands. Dark spots that splotched the ink told him of the tears that when he looked up, he saw were still running down her cheeks. He backed up a few steps.

Al came in behind Ed. In a few seconds he came to the realization that Ed had. "W-Winry?" he asked.

Winry turned, as if seeing them for the first time. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly. Her voice soft, like her grief had shrunken it.

Ed looked away, ashamed. "We just found out. We had-" he gulped a little to keep his own tears away before continuing. "We had to see if it was true."

Winry looked at him, tears shining in her eyes. "Is it? Is Mr. Hughes- is he really dead?"

Again, Ed looked away, he couldn't look at her eyes.

Winry looked down at the paper. "I know her."

Ed looked at Al, to see if he had understood what Winry said.

Al gave a small shrug showing that he had no idea.

"What?"

"That lady in the paper. The one-" Winry gasped, fighting back down a sob. "Who it says killed Mr. Hughes," she finished quietly.

Ed started, surprised. How had Winry known Lieutenant Hawkeye?

"When that colonel came to our house after you two… tried to bring back your mother, she was with him."

Again, a surprised expression found its way to Ed's face. He had forgotten that the lieutenant had been there that day.

"She- she talked to me. I asked why she was in the military. She said she didn't like it, but there was someone she had to protect."

Ed looked at the ground angrily. He had a sneaking suspicion of who that person had been. It made him sick to his stomach as he thought again of the charred corpse. How had the colonel done that to her?

"She was so nice to me!" Winry ran her fingers along of the picture of Lieutenant Hawkeye. "She looks the same as she did then. Except her hair's longer."

Despite everything, that brought a small smile to Ed's face. He reached his metal arm out and gently pulled Winry into a loose embrace. "It's okay," he whispered softly into her hair.

Silent sobs raked her back, making it jerk up and down. "Ed, how could she do something like that? Mr. Hughes was… why would anyone want to kill him? How could anyone bring themselves to kill him?"

Ed looked down at her. He really didn't want to tell her what had happened, but if he didn't now, she would just see in it the paper tomorrow. It would hurt less coming from a friend. Or so he hoped. "Winry, there's something I have to tell you…" he said voice trembling slightly.

She looked up, her face fearful. Undoubtedly wondering what he could possibly say.

"The lieutenant… She's dead. Mustang killed her when she escaped from prison." He couldn't look at Winry.

"What?" Winry cried, pushing herself out of Ed's grasp. She looked at him, but when he still refused to meet her gaze, she turned to Al, only to find that he too had his head turned away. "But… but…"

"I'm sorry," Ed said, tightly.

"Did she really kill him then?" Winry asked, eyes wide.

"I don't know. I don't know! I don't know anything!" Ed said furiously, punching the wall forcefully with his metal hand. "I'm useless," he cried softly, falling back down onto the couch.

Winry came over to him. This time it was her who laid her arm across _his_ shoulders. "Ed," she started. That's not true-" her speech was cut short as a figure appeared in the window.

Immediately, Ed jumped up and put himself between it and Winry. He raised his hands, getting ready to clap. As soon as he saw who it was though, his arms collapsed back to his sides.

"Ling?" Al asked incredulously. None of them had seen him since they had all made it to Central, besides those few seconds when he was running beside the Lieutenant.

"What're you doing here?" Ed asked, annoyed.

"And why did you come through the window?" Al added.

Ling smiled, the wide grin seeming to enlarge his face. "I had to. I'm a wanted criminal! I'm an illegal alien, plus I escaped from prison!"

Al muttered something about him being way too smug about his criminal record.

"How did you know where we were staying?" Winry asked, stepping out from behind Ed's protective stance.

"He's a State Alchemist. I figured he'd be staying at a military hotel. I just had to check them all 'till I found you guys!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Is there something you want?"

Instead of answering, Ling just smiled bigger. "I've heard all about your adventures from Barry the Chopper"

Both Elric brothers' eyes widened at that name.

"It's quite a mess you've gotten yourselves into!" Ling stated cheerfully.

Ed started towards him angrily, but Al held him back.

"Wait, big brother! He was with Barry and the Lieutenant! He might know something!"

Ed grudgingly sat back down. "Fine, but he better start talking."

Ling stretched leisurely on the window sill. "All righty, then. The first thing you need to know is that Lieutenant Hawkeye isn't dead."

Ed, Al, and Winry all started at the young Xingese man in disbelief. "Wh-what?" Al asked.

"That's impossible!" Ed saw. "I saw-" he glanced quickly at Winry. "I saw her corpse," he finished quieter. "The coroner confirmed that it was her."

Ling shrugged. "That Colonel Mustang is a very clever man."

"You mean… he didn't kill her?" Ed asked.

"Nope, she's very much alive. I saw her myself."

Al sat down heavily on the couch next to Ed. "What happened?"

Ling gave them a brief but accurate rundown of everything that had occurred.

Al and Ed stared, mouths hanging open. Neither of them could speak. Shock was written across every feature in their faces. Finally, Ed found his voice. "That bastard!" he said angrily, clearly referring to the colonel.

"Brother," Al said half-heartedly. He seemed to be a little annoyed at the colonel as well, but his irritation was more reserved.

"Yes," Ling said, giving Ed a hard stare. "Colonel Mustang most likely saved the life of his subordinate. It was an admirable course of action. He did his duty of protecting those of a lower rank than himself."

Ed looked at Ling. There was a slight tremor in his voice, as if his words meant something to him personally, but his stoic expression gave no hint to what it may be. Ed shrugged. Whatever. "I'm not mad at him for faking Lieutenant Hawkeye's death, I'm mad at him for not telling me what he was doing!" he explained.

"You're unpredictable," Ling stated unapologetically. "I'm not even supposed to be telling you this now."

Ed glared at him. "Then why are you here?" he asked irritably.

A sour expression crossed Ling's face, a rarity for the Xingese Prince. "Part of my deal with Barry the Chopper was that he would tell me the secrets to his immortality."

Ed, Al, and Winry all stared at him, clearly not understanding. Ed cast a sideways glance at Winry. He coughed discreetly. "Um… Winry… could you…?" he trailed off.

Winry glared furiously at him but got up. "Fine. I'll be in my room." She said stonily. "Try not to get yourselves killed," she added, voice softening slightly. She left the room.

"Al, you don't need to eat, or sleep, or drink! You don't age!" Ling said, addressing the suit of armor.

Al's eyes darkened. "That's not immortality."

Ling's eyes narrowed, matching Al's coolness. "It's the closest I've found so far. I've got my entire clan to worry about. I'm not letting anything get away. Consider all the information I've given you a gift. I hope that you'll repay with some information of your own."

Ed and Al stared, not knowing what to say. "We'll… we'll think about it," Ed answered finally.

Ling nodded and bowed to both of them. "I thank you."

The two brothers watched as he threw himself out the window. Al started forward suddenly, but Ed didn't have it in him to be concerned. "I'm going to bed Al. It's been a long day."

* * *

The next morning, Colonel Mustang again went to the archive rooms in attempt to get Sheska to let him in. Initially, he hadn't been planning on returning after the last time, however, the new threat posed to his Lieutenant pushed him over the edge. To his surprise, this time Sheska let him in without so much as a protest. From the terrified squeak she gave as soon as she saw him, he figured she must have heard what happened. Well, who said being feared wasn't useful?

_Now if I could just figure out what to research!_ He thought. The last time he had been there, he had focused his efforts primarily on things that he knew, like Barry the Chopper and all the experiments at the Fifth Laboratory. Unfortunately, he had only come up with dead ends. He needed a new front to research. What Ed told him came drifting back… _homunculi_… Was it possible? Could all of this have something to do with Homunculi? _Well even if does, I'm sure as hell not going to find it here,_ he thought, annoyed. Still, having no better leads, he took a crack at it. As expected, he came up with nothing substantial. There were rumors that homunculi were somehow connected to the Philosopher's Stone. The rumors were far from clear, though. And even if they were true, they would do nothing to help the Lieutenant.

_I better leave before another officer catches me here, _he decided. Roughly, he stood up and stretched. Time to get back to the office.

As he walked around the bustling hallways, an idea suddenly came to him. If everything that had happened was as connected as it appeared to be, Hughes' death, military experiments, Lieutenant Hawkeye's situation, these people were unthinkably powerful, and the only link he had to them was Barry the Chopper. They had to know at this point that he was on to them; it was the only logical reason they had framed Hawkeye. They would no doubt have realized what a loose end Barry was. With all the commotion the former murderer had caused when rescuing the lieutenant, someone would've had to have gotten a good look at his face. After all, he was pretty unforgettable. With all the military connections these people had they almost definitely knew that it was Barry who had led the prison break. They would realize how dangerous Barry could be if left to his own devices, and would most likely be sending someone to 'collect' the variable. It's what Mustang would do in their position.

He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it before. It would be a problem whether he had noticed it or not. Now he just hoped that he had time to twist the situation to his advantage. If he acted quickly, he might make it. This could be the break that they were waiting. It looked like it was time to pick up his old sport.

* * *

**A/N So that pesky newspaper resurfaces! Wow it's ruining everyone's life! Anyway, the first day in this story is finally over! (Seriously, 10 chapters all within 24 hours, I must have been feeling very ambitious!) **

**Please take the time to leave me a review, they're greatly appreciated!  
**


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